
, Class _JL^EiA2X 
Book ^-5 

COPXBIGHT DEPOSIT. 




HORACE MANN 



FUNDAMENTALS 



IN 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



BY 

CLAUDE A. PHILLIPS, Ph.D. 

HEAD OF THE DEPARTMENT OF EDUCATION, AND DEAN OF THE FACULTY, 

CENTRAL MISSOURI STATE TEACHERS COLLEGE 
AUTHOR OF " THE HISTORY OF EDUCATION IN MISSOURI," "THE ORGANI- 
ZATION AND DEVELOPMENT OF TEACHER TRAINING INSTITUTIONS IN 
MISaoURI," AND "a CENTURY OF EDUCATION IN MISSOURI " 



REVISED EDITION 




CHARLES E. MERRILL COMPANY 

NEW YORK CHICAGO 



,"2^ 



^ 



^^^( 

i^-^^ 



Copyright, 1916. 1922. by 
CHARLES E. MERRILL CO. 

I7l 



SEP 26 '22 



ICU«83{i91 



This book is dedicated, reverently, to the memory 

of Horace Mann, prophet and pioneer in 

elementary education. 



PREFACE 

The subject matter of this book is a direct outgrowth 
of the experiences of the Department of Education in the 
State Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri, in giving 
courses in Education to beginners in that subject. During 
the ten years of the experiment, the major portion of the 
material has been tried out in more than one hundred fifty 
classes, taught by well-trained teachers. The book is de- 
signed primarily for students in Teacher-training Classes 
in Education in high schools, and in Elementary Courses 
in normal schools; and it is well adapted to Teachers' 
Reading Circles. It might well be used as an Introductory 
Course in Education in colleges or in College Courses in 
normal schools. 

The author has tried to keep in the foreground the 
function of the elementary school as the greatest single 
agency in a democracy for the education of its children, 
and, while no effort has been made to exhaust the topics 
concerning elementary schools, an attempt has been made 
to discuss the fundamental ones with considerable detail 
and thoroughness. Practically all of the " Problems'' 
presented at the end of each chapter may be answered 
from the subject matter contained in the text, and the 
experiences of the teacher and students. The selected 
readings are intended chiefly for supplementary purposes, 
and for those students who have access to a good library. 
It is needless to state that the writer claims no large 
degree of originality for the volume, because he has 
drawn freely upon pedagogical literature as it relates to 
the elementary school. 

The author is under obligations to Messrs. C. B. Hudson 



PREFACE 

and C. A. McPheeters and Misses Walker and Humphreys, 
of the Department of Education in the State Normal 
School at Warrensburg, Missouri, who have criticised, con- 
structively, the manuscript and helped to formulate 
problems for study. He is especially indebted to Miss 
Humphreys for a detailed criticism of the technique of the 
chapters. Mr. C. F. Martin of the Department of 
English has offered a number of valuable criticisms on 
certain chapters. President E. L. Hendricks has read all 
the manuscript and proof, offering helpful suggestions and 
criticism. There are many other obligations — not of a 
personal nature — which have been acknowledged either 
by foot notes or in the body of the text. 

C. A. P. 

Warrensburg, Missouri. 
February, 1916. 



PREFACE TO SECOND EDITION 

The use made of this text book in various teacher 
training institutions warrants the shght revision necessary 
to bring the book up to date. Special attention is called 
to the changes in statistics, the chapter on Consolidation, 
and the chapter on Measuring the Results in Education. 

Since the pubhcation of the first edition, the author 
has had occasion, while a graduate student in Peabody 
College, to give even greater attention to the general 
problems of elementary education, and out of this addi- 
tional experience he is fully convinced that the general 
principles and philosophy presented here are as funda- 
mental now as when this text was first issued. 

CAP 

April 24, 1922. 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

I. The State and Education: State Control of Edu- 
cation — The Functions of the State — Types 
of State Control — Aims of Education in a De- 
mocracy Pages 1-5 ^ 

II. Systems of School Administration: District Systems 
— The Township System — The County System — 
The State Unit Pages 6-11 

III. Consolidation: ^Definition of Consolidation — History 
and Progress — Arguments for Consolidation — 
Methods of Consolidation — Chief Elements in a 
Consolidation Law — Transportation.. .Pages 12-27 

rV. School Finances: Education an Investment — A Brief 
History of School Finance — Forms of Support — - 
Permanent Funds — County Funds — Purpose of Per- 
manent State Funds — State Taxation — State Aid or 
Subsidy — Apportionment of Funds . . . Pages 28-36 
V. Supervision: The Need for Supervision — Ehmination 
of Waste — Need of Reorganization — County Super- 
intendent Pages 37-42 

VI. School Grounds and Buildings: Grounds — The 
Building — Dimensions for Buildings — Basement 
Room — Cloak - Rooms — Lighting — Ventilation 
— The Use of Windows — Proper Temperature — 
Methods of Heating — Humidity — Desks — Black- 
boards — Toilets — The Water Supply — Decoration 
— Charts and Similar Equipments — The Library — 

Vacuum Cleaners — Conclusion Pages 43-58 

VII. The Teacher: A Social Administrator — Good Health 
Necessary — Personality — Personal Appearance 
— Sincerity — Optimism — Altruism — Enthusi- 
asm — Fairness — Reserve — Scholarship — The 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

Voice — Ideals — Academic Education — Professional 
Training — Legal Qualifications — Duties and Obliga- 
tions to School Boards — Duties to Parents — Duties 
to Pupils — Duties to the Community — Duties to 

Self and the Profession Pages 59-74 

VIII. Schoolroom Technique: Preparation for the First 
Day — The First Day of School — Daily Program — 
Values of a Good Program — Important Factors in 
Constructing a Program — Rules for Government — 
Securing Regular Attendance Pages 75-90 

IX. Schoolroom Technique (Continued) : The Recitation 
— The Objects of the Recitation — The Assignment 
— Questioning — Correlation and Alternation — Pro- 
motion — Basis for Promotion — Grading Schemes — 
Use of the Library — Leaving the Room — Getting 
Water — Fire Drill — Distribution of Material — 

School Records — Summary Pages 91-104 

X. Psychological Factors Involved in the Processes 
OF Instruction: Reflex Actions — Instinctive Ac- 
tions — Classification of Instincts — Education and 
Instinct — Thinking or Ideation — Sense Percep- 
tion — Apperception — Applications — The Law of 
Imitation — Value of Imitation — Dangers in Imita- 
tion Pages 105-117 

XL Psychological Factors Involved in the Processes 
OF Instruction (Continued): Individual Differ- 
ences — ^Applications — Formal Discipline — Applica- 
tions — The Law of Interest — How to Secure It — 
Dangers in the AppHcation of the Law — Applica- 
tions — Motor Activity. . : Pages 118-132 

XII. Instruction: The Function of the Recitation — Meth- 
ods of Presentation — ^The Inductive Lesson — De- 
ductive Lesson — Drill Lesson Pages 133-150 

XIII. Instruction (Continued): The Study Lesson — Super- 

vised Study — Attempts to Solve the Problem — 
Typical Study Lessons — The Testing Lesson — The 
Lesson for Appreciation Pages 151-171 

XIV. The New Curriculum: Origin of Subject Matter — 

Reading — Methods in Teaching Reading — Spelling 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

— Methods — Selection of Words — Writing — Lan- 
guage and Grammar — The Study of Literature 
— Drawing — Subject Matter and Methods in 
Drawing — Music — Subject Matter in Music — 

Methods Pages 172-186 

XV. The New Curriculum (Continued): Physiology and 
Hygiene — Nature Studj^ — Geography — History — 
Arithmetic — Manual Arts — Household Arts — Sum- 
mary Pages 187-202 

XVI. School Discipline : Forms of Discipline — The Aims of 
Discipline — The Teacher as a Factor — The Child's 
Attitude — The Parents' Attitude — Learning Team 
Work — Pathological Cases — Punishments — Forms 
of Punishment Pages 203-215 

XVII. Personal Hygiene : Interest in Physical Welfare — Eco- 
nomic Losses from Preventable Diseases — The Use 
of Alcohol and Drugs — Defects Among School 
Children — Hygiene of Vision — Hygiene of the 
Ear — Hygiene of the Teeth — Hygiene of the 
Nose — Nervousness — Speech Defects — Normal 

Growth Pages 216-225 

XVIII. Play and Recreation: The Value of Play— Plays of 
the Home — School Games and Recreations — Volley 
Ball— Tether Ball— Tennis— Basket-BaU— Corner 
Ball — Baseball — Indoor Baseball — Clubs — >^ 
Community Recreation Pages 226-240 

XIX. Moral Training: Methods of Teaching Morals— The 
DiscipUne of the School — Curriculum for Ideals — 
School Tasks — School Activities — The Teacher — 
Schoolroom and Equipment — Home Tasks — The 

Doctrine of Interest Pages 241-249 ^ 

XX. Vocational Education: Changes in Society — The 
Elimination of Waste — Issues in Democracy- 
Types of Vocational Education — The Psychological 
Problem — The Co-operation of the Home — Social ^ 
and Moral Phases Pages 250-259 

XXI. Measuring the Results of Education: Grading by 
the Teacher — Standard Tests — Mental Measure- 
ments—The Survey. Pages 260-266 



CONTENTS 

CHAPTER 

XXII. Teaching as a Profession: Skill Necessary — The Need 
of Co-operation — Social Aspects — Tenure in Posi- 
tion — Teachers' Organizations Pages 267-272 

APPENDIX A. Model School Plans Pages 273-286 

APPENDIX B. Minimum Sanitary Requirements for Ru- 
ral Schools Pages 287-295 

INDEX Pages 297-304 



FUNDAMENTALS IN 
ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

CHAPTER I. 

THE STATE AND EDUCATION. 

State Control of Education.— One of the character- 
istic developments of modern civiUzation is the in- 
creased control of the state over institutional activ- 
ities, the single exception being that of the church. 
There has been a steady increase in the control of 
the state over educational institutions for more than 
three centuries, but the increase has been most 
marked in the last half century. State dominance 
has been fostered by the growing spirit of democracy; 
for the people have sought, through the state, to 
secure equal rights, privileges, and opportunities 
by means of the development of the system of pubhc 
education. 

The pubUc schools have become the means by 
which modern states develop their nationalization. 
It was in this spirit that the Pestalozzian pedagogy 
was adopted in order to rehabilitate Germany after 
the Napoleonic wars. Fichte, the great German phi- 
losopher, prophesied that Germany would become 
supreme through the adoption of the principles of 
Pestalozzi, and history records the fulfillment of the 
prophecy, for Germany completely crushed France 
in the Franco-Prussian war. All modern nations now 



2 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

appreciate that a good system of education is a 
national asset which has its ramifications in all the 
economic, political, religious, and social life of a 
people. 

In America there has been but little national con- 
trol; though it was pointed out by the founders of 
the Republic that education was of supreme impor- 
tance for the perpetuity and well-being of the state. 
Washington was interested in the problems of edu- 
cation and was concerned with the founding of a 
national university. Hamilton laid the basis for the 
New York school system, and both Madison and 
Jefferson interested themselves in education for Vir- 
ginia. Jefferson laid out in detail a plan for a state 
system of education including elementary schools 
and district high schools which would prepare pupils 
for the University of Virginia. 

One hindrance to educational progress in America 
is our fundamental notion that centralization is 
dangerous even in the separate states. Local auton- 
omy has been considered essential for the welfare 
of democracy and, unfortunately, we have applied 
the principle of local autonomy to the school as an 
institution, when, as a matter of fact, it would 
have been better to restrict its application to civic 
and political affairs. The ^' Bogie man'' of centrali- 
zation is still feared in nearly every state of the 
Union, though to a lesser degree as affecting elemen- 
tary schools than in the control of high schools and 
special technical schools. 

The Functions of the State. — The functions of the 
state in relation to education may be summed up 
as follows: 1. The state should support education 
in order to secure the safety and welfare of the 
group, to perpetuate the institutions which society 



THE STATE AND EDUCATION 3 

has evolved, and to provide for the change and 
improvement necessary in a growing democracy. 
2. The state must demand that education be carried 
on so as to secure the largest measure of individual 
development, so that the potential powers and pos- 
sibihties of all the people may be discovered and 
utilized. 3. The state must train its people to 
meet the intense vocational and industrial compe- 
tition incident to modern civilization. 4. The state 
must take an intelligent interest in education in 
order to prevent unsocial and anti-social forms of 
instruction. 

Types of State Control. — Broadly speaking there 
are three possible types of state educational control: 
1. The state may, without giving any support 
whatever, pass educational laws or in other ways 
direct educational matters. 2. The state may 
regulate and at the same time give partial or com- 
plete support to the system of education. This is 
the stage in which we now find most states of the 
American Union. 3. The state may impose, abso- 
lutely, certain educational requirements and restric- 
tions; as, for example, laws in which attendance, 
length of term, and curriculum are completely pre- 
scribed. In addition to the above the principle is 
now well recognized that the state may provide 
special schools ; such as elementary schools for delin- 
quents or defectives, high schools where the com- 
munity has not provided them, and many voca- 
tional and industrial schools. 

Aims of Education in a Democracy. — Education in 
a democracy should be recognized as a social force, 
because its aim is primarily to secure social welfare 
and betterment; and this aim should not be construed 
to imply any marked restraint of individual develop- 



4 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

ment, except in so far as this would prove detrimental 
to social progress. A recent writer^ has said, 
^' Public education aims to preserve, improve, and 
transmit the specific resources of society — to develop 
in every individual general and social efficiency. 
General Social Efficiency means social intelligence 
and the power to deal effectively with social problems. 
Special Social Efficiency means vocational efficiency; 
efficiency in a particular calling.'^ 

It should be the aim of education to train citizens 
to understand and appreciate the common good, to 
make them capable of self direction and self restraint, 
and to cause them to know how to work and play 
without being unfair to themselves or their fellows. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Tell something about the work of Pestalozzi. For 
what ideals did he stand? 

2. Why have we no national system of education? 

3. What should be the character of a national university? 

4. Show how the state controls in matters of public util- 
ities, e.g., railroads, banks, insurance, etc. Should this 
control be exercised in matters of education? Why? 

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of having 
the state inspect all classes of schools? 

6. State the various forms of education provided in your 
own state. 

7. State the social-efficiency aim of education as advo- 
cated by Bagley in his Educative Process. 

8. What is meant by the development of moral character 
as the aim of education? 

9. Discuss ''citizenship" as an aim in education. 

1 Hanus: School Efficiency — A Construdive Study. 



THE STATE AND EDUCATION 5 

READINGS. 

Bagley: The Educative Process, Chap. III. 

Cubberley: State and County Educational Reorganization. 

Dutton and Snedden: The Administration of Public Edu- 
cation in the United States, Chap. I. to IV. 

Hanus: School Efficiency — A Constructive Study, Chap. I. 
and II. 

Hanus: Educational Aims and Educational Values, Chap. 
I. and II. 

HoUister: The Administration of Education in a Democ- 
racy, Chap. I. to VI. 

King: Education for Social Efficiency. 

McMurray: The Elements of General Methods, Chap. I. 

Spencer: Education, Chap. I. and II. 



CHAPTER II. 

SYSTEMS OF SCHOOL ADMINISTRATION. 

A BRIEF discussion of the various types and forms 
of school organization from an administrative point 
of view will assist the student of present-day schools 
to come to some understanding of the administra- 
tive problem. These forms or types are : 1. District 
systems. 2. Town or Township systems. 3. 
County systems. 4. State systems. 

1. District Systems. — In nearly all the colonies 
and states, some form of the district system was 
used. In New England there are one or two excep- 
tions, as Massachusetts and Connecticut. As early 
as 1642 the general court of elections in Massachu- 
setts made provision for a school in each town, but, 
in general, the '' common '^ school was a community 
enterprise which was undertaken on the initiative 
of the wide-awake and progressive citizens. Later, 
when legal sanction was granted by legislative en- 
actment or by the county court, the district was made 
only large enough to include certain families or 
cliques; no thought was given to area or property 
valuation. The state gave little or no attention to 
these organizations. Commonly, permission was 
granted to tax and to construct buildings, and later 
these school districts became corporate bodies. Un- 
der such conditions, the school was as '^good'^ or as 
''bad" as the community wanted it to be. At pres- 
ent twenty-one out of forty-eight states are laboring 
under the district system. 



SYSTEMS OF ADMINISTRATION 7 

Advantages. — The chief argument for the small 
district unit is that it keeps the school close to the 
people and is, therefore, more democratic. It tends 
to foster local pride in the school. 

Disadvantages. — Its disadvantages are numer- 
ous. 1. Inequalities of district valuation of prop- 
erty make inequality of educational opportunities. 
2. It is an unfair taxation scheme because two 
neighbors may pay different rates with no guarantee 
that the one paying the higher rate will have the 
better school. 3. It involves a cumbersone adminis- 
trative plan. Often a full board of directors super- 
vises a one-room school and a single teacher. Under 
this system, in some states there are as many as 
thirty thousand school directors. In short, district 
organization is out of date, unfair, and uneconomi- 
cal; it should be merged into some larger unit as 
rapidly as possible. 

2. The Township System. — The town or township 
was the first basis for school organization in some 
of the New England colonies. The best type of 
township organization is possibly to be found in 
Indiana, where ihere is but one township trustee, 
who is elected by the people, and whose business it 
is to supervise the management of all the schools in 
the township. It is his duty to see that elementary 
schools are properly conducted in each local district 
into which the township has been subdivided and that 
there is at least one high school for each township. 
The township trustee is not responsible for the 
management of the schools in the incorporated towns 
and villages. Thirteen states have some form of the 
township, town, or magisterial unit. The magis- 
terial district, which is used in Virginia, for instance, 
includes only part of the county. There is a district 



8 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

board which has control over all the schools in the 
district and there may be from ten to fifty schools 
under this board's control. A town of five hundred 
or more inhabitants may be a separate school district. 

Advantages. — The township system tends to 
equalize the burdens of taxation and to offer equal 
opportunity to the children of the territory. It 
lessens the possibilities of local favoritism. It tends 
to promote permanent tenure of teachers. It pro- 
vides a more economic and efficient scheme of 
administration. 

Disadvantages. — The township system has some 
drawbacks. The area is not large enough to insure 
equal school privileges to the children throughout 
the state, because of the unequal distribution of 
wealth as among various communities. Township 
lines do not necessarily run in such a way as to make 
them suitable division lines for school units. On the 
whole, however, the states having good township 
organizations are fairly well satisfied with them. 

3. The County System. — The county system of 
administration is now used in some form in most of 
the states of the Union, but its organization is com- 
plete in only thirteen states. The best examples 
of the county type of administration are found in 
Maryland, Utah, and Georgia. In some states there 
is merely a county superintendent or a county board 
of education with very few powers. The county unit 
of educational organization, however, is being dis- 
cussed and worked out in nearly all of the states of 
the American Union. At present it seems that this 
is the form of administration which will obtain in 
many states in the near future, though progress may 
be slow in some of the states. 

Advantages. — The advantages of the county unit 



SYSTEMS OF ADMINISTRATION 9 

are numerous and weighty. For the children, it 
means better teachers, better buildings, better equip- 
ment, better curricula; and it guarantees equal 
opportunities for all the pupils of the community. 
For the teachers, it means better supervision, better 
buildings and equipment, more adequate salaries, 
equal lengths of school terms, and more assured per- 
manence of tenure. For the taxpayers, it means the 
equahzation of the educational burden of supporting 
the school; it means economical administration and 
the elimination of small, inefficient schools; and it 
means that, at a reasonable cost, high schools can be 
established within the reach of all the people. Under 
the county system the county superintendent will 
find his position of greater importance and influence; 
it should remove his office from partisan politics and 
give him a permanence of tepure which will enable 
him to plan and carry out a pohcy. It will give him 
some power over the placing of teachers and the con- 
struction of school buildings; in short, when com- 
pletely installed, the county system will dignify his 
office. 

Disadvantages. — Almost the only argument which 
can be urged against the county system is that it is 
less democratic than the district or township system. 
It is sometimes urged that the county system is a 
type of centralized government and should not be 
adopted as a form of administration for our schools. 
However, it would seem proper to do so inasmuch as 
the county is the unit for administration in all civil 
matters. It is urged that a county system will di- 
minish local interest and local responsibility. This 
argument is contrary to common knowledge, for, 
even where a district is ''supervised" by three direc- 
tors, they give it small attention, and the much- 



10 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

vaunted annual school meeting is usually attended 
by only a few of the men of the district. It is doubt- 
ful, however, if the county system of organization 
should take away completely the district responsi- 
bility in the states now having district organization. 
One director should be retained to look after the 
problems of the district school. It should be pos- 
sible, also, for a local district to vote money for 
special purposes, to improve the local school, or to 
add sums to the county levy for special reasons. 
These two provisions would foster local pride in the 
district school. When a central school is provided 
for the entire township there is no longer any need 
of such local participation in school administration. 
4. The State Unit. — In all the states of the Amer- 
ican Union there is what we call a state system 
of education over and above all of the other units 
which we have considered. In many states the 
organization hardly deserves to be called a ^'system '' ; 
in many of them it exists only on paper. The sys- 
tem is administered by some officer, known as the 
*' superintendent of public instruction '^ in about 
twenty states. In a few states — among them New 
York, Massachusetts, and New Jersey — he is called 
^'Commissioner of Education." In many states 
there is a state board of education; although as a 
rule this board usually does not have any mandatory 
powers over the state schools, its work being largely 
directory and advisory. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Discuss the merits and demerits of the district system 
of school organization; the township system; the 
county system; the state system. 



SYSTEMS OF ADMINISTRATION 11 

2. Describe in detail the organization of schools in your 
own state. 

3. What leads to differences in the school levies in 
districts where the district system prevails? Is this 
fair? Why? 

4. Do you know of extremes in the district valuations 
where you have the district system of school organi- 
zation? How does this affect the efficiency of the 
school? 

5. What work is there in a local district to occupy the 
time of three school directors? 

6. How many school directors are there in your state? 
What marked differences are there between the con- 
trol of city schools and country schools? 

7. What advantages for teachers are to be found 
where the county system prevails? What advan- 
tages to the community as a whole? 

8. Have you a state board of education? How is it 
organized? What are its powers? 

9. In many of the countries of Europe the length of 
the school year is more than two hundred days. 
What is the average length of term in the United 
States? In your state? 

10. Should we extend the length of the school term in the 
United States? Give reasons. 

READINGS. 

Cubberley : Rural Life and Education, Chap. VIII. and X. 
Dutton and Snedden: The Administration of Public Edu- 
cation in the United States, Chap. V., VI., and VII. 
N. E. A. Report of Committee of Twelve. 



CHAPTER III 

CONSOLIDATION 

Enlarging our Horizon. — One of the most marked 
characteristics of modern civilization is the develop- 
ment of institutions. In the making of these insti- 
tutions, co-operation has displaced in a large measure 
the early individualism which so completely domi- 
nated the life of the American people. Indeed, the 
most notable feature of our modern civilization is the 
expansion of human personality to include such a 
multitude of relationships. Rapid transportation 
and communication and the grouping of large sums 
of wealth in various types of organizations have con- 
tributed to the making of this new personality. 

Our interests are no longer circumscribed by small 
farms or villages, but are broad enough to include 
the neighborhood, the county, the state, and the 
nation; and now our discussion of world relation- 
ships occasioned by the events growing out of the 
World War betokens the expansion involving feelings 
of brotherhood and good will on an international 
basis. Old-fashioned provincialism is dead. This is 
a big world involving complex relationships, whether 
we will or not. The automobile, the telephone, good 
roads, trolley cars, newspapers, magazines, wireless, 
and a host of other agencies have enlarged our 
horizon beyond the measuring point. The need and 



CONSOLIDATION 13 

demand for the consolidated school is but one of the 
manifestations of this pervading spirit. 

Definition of Consolidation. — In a general way it 
may be said that a consolidated school is the union 
of two or more school districts into one larger dis- 
trict for the purpose of having a better school for 
both elementary and high-school instruction. In 
some states the term centralized school is used in 
making a slight distinction from the above-men- 
tioned statement. In the centralized school both the 
elementary and high school are conducted in a 
single building, whereas in the case of consolidated 
schools this is not necessary. 

History of Consolidation. — In the colonies and the 
states which were organized soon after the adoption 
of the federal Constitution, the district system of 
school organization was used. In the nature of the 
case, only such an organization could have been 
adopted because elementary education was a neigh- 
borhood or local matter. There was no public con- 
sciousness respecting state education; and even if 
there had been^ there was no wealth sufficient to 
provide the revenues necessary to support a state- 
wide system of schools. Therefore, the elementary 
school in practically all of the states developed with 
the local district as the chief unit of administration. 

However, it very soon became obvious to students 
of education that the district scheme would not pro- 
vide suitable opportunities for education in a modern 
democracy. Horace Mann in a number of public 
addresses, enumerated most graphically the hmita- 
tions of the local district organization in the common- 
wealth of Massachusetts, and declared unequivo- 



14 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

cally that such an organization was totally inadequate 
for good elementary schools, to say nothing about 
secondary education. 

Other school men pointed out the same facts in 
numerous other states. As early as 1853 a law was 
passed by the state of New York which permitted 
consohdation. In 1869 Massachusetts made legal 
provision for the abandonment of small schools and 
the transportation of pupils to another district. 
Under this provision, a school having fewer than 
twelve pupils could be closed because it was thought 
to be an extravagance. 

The first real consolidation of schools apparently 
took place in Montague, Mass., in 1875. Here, 
three small district schools were abandoned, and a 
handsome new brick building, modern in every par- 
ticular, was erected at a central location. This 
school is still in operation and serves a territory of 
approximately twenty square miles. Very soon 
after the school was established, a high-school depart- 
ment was added, and the first class completed a full 
four-year course in 1884. 

The agitation for consolidation in Indiana was 
started by Caleb Mills in 1856. However, it was 
not until 1889 that the legislature passed a law which 
provided for the consohdation of schools, with the 
possibility of transportation of the pupils to these 
schools. At the present time many of these Indiana 
schools are centrahzed schools. 

In 1889 the Connecticut legislature first authorized 
the consolidation of districts, and somewhat later it 
provided for transportation of pupils. In the early 
nineties many other states passed laws providing for 



CONSOLIDATION 15 

permissive consolidation. Included in this list were 
Maine, Rhode Island, Vermont, Pennsylvania, Ohio, 
and Missomi. 

Progress of Consolidation. — In the last two decades 
considerable progress has been made in consolidation 
in the various states. A conservative estimate of 
the number, including consolidated and centralized 
schools, is about 8,000. Indiana has at the present 
time 706 consolidated schools. In 1890 Indiana had 
8,853 one-room schools. In 1920 this number had 
been reduced to 4,880; that is, in this time 3,973 
one-room schools had been abandoned. There are 
about one thousand consolidated schools in Ohio. 
In Iowa there are 425 consolidated schools. Texas 
has 700 consolidated schools, Mississippi 470, Ken- 
tucky 659, Arkansas 350, Alabama 308, Colorado 
146, and Missouri 188. The state of Utah is com- 
pletely consohdated, and all indications are to the 
effect that it has the most satisfactory organization 
of any state in the union. 

Arguments for Consolidation. — The following are 
the more important arguments which may be urged 
for the consolidation of schools. 

1. It provides a larger and more modern unit for 
co-operation. Our modern institutional conditions 
require much larger groups of people to carry on 
successfully any important undertaking. Therefore, 
consohdation is immediately in Une with the spirit 
of the times. The district system, with its purely 
local control, may be said to have been fairly satis- 
factory for the conditions of pioneer hfe. However, 
the growth of population, and modern improvements 
and inventions, as enumerated above, all indicate 



16 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the inadequacy of this pioneer system of control. All 
indications are, at the present moment, that the dis- 
trict system is doomed as the final and most efficient 
unit for the great American public-school organization. 

In recent years many states have attempted 
various changes in the unit, some going over to town- 
ship systems and still others to county systems. It 
may be said, without any hesitation, that the trend 
is toward a complete county system of education. 
The township system, or as it is called in the East 
the town system, is a decided improvement over the 
primitive district organization. But a township 
does not necessarily represent the community life. 
It may be much larger than the ordinary township. 
Therefore, it should be recognized that our schemes 
of consoHdation are important steps in the ultimate 
unification and organization of county-wide systems 
of public schools. 

2. The economic arguments may be urged from at 
least two points of view: as an investment and as to 
the expense involved. 

A. As an investment The federal government 
and numerous other agencies have compared in 
most definite terms the skilled and the unskilled 
labor. Every comparison which has been made by 
any reputable agency has shown beyond any matter 
of debate that a high-school education doubles the 
earning capacity of the individual receiving it. 
Since the war the whole matter of values for labor 
has been more or less upset, but it was shown con- 
clusively in those chaotic war conditions that the 
skilled laborer was many times more valuable than 
the unskilled. It may be said also that the same 



CONSOLIDATION 17 

general arguments hold good for the higher forms of 
education of a professional and technical kind. 
These arguments are not made on the assumption 
that there is any obligation for society to train 
individuals so that, as individuals, they may earn 
more. These individuals do, indeed, earn more; 
but the much more important fact appears that the 
wealth of the community and the state and the na- 
tion is to be increased, and the possibilities of growth, 
development, and happiness may be correspondingly 
expanded. 

B. As to expense involved. It is not urged that 
consolidation will materially cheapen education. 
Undoubtedly under consolidation, in many hundreds 
of situations in Missouri, the same education now 
provided could be furnished at less expense; but 
the consolidation is taking place because of the 
small number attending many district schools. 
There are some 2,500 school districts in the state 
where the average attendance is fewer than fifteen 
children per school. We do not want for our children 
nowadays such, little, poverty-stricken situations. 
As somebody has said, we don't want our children 
to go to school "in Si little old schoolhouse, taught by 
a little old teacher." We want a modern school ; and 
when we get this, it may cost even more than we are 
paying for the present schools. But we will get more. 

Moreover, we have to co-operate in order to secure 
the advantages of high-school education, unless we 
are willing and able to spend large sums on individ- 
uals. In a reicent investigation it was found that it 
costs roughly not less than $300 a year to send a 
boy or girl away from home to high school. It is 



18 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

not unusual to have three or four graduating from 
a country school. With several districts, this would 
readily make from twelve to fifteen children gradu- 
ating each year. If these children are to be sent 
away to high school, there is a community invest- 
ment for first-year high school of $3,600 to $4,500. 
For illustration, there are more than fifty children 
attending the Farmers' Consolidated High School 
(this being absolutely a rural high school). Suppose 
these children were being sent to one of the town 
high schools of Johnson County, with the expense 
involved as indicated above. That would mean 
an annual expenditure of $15,000. To be sure, 
not all of these children could go to the town 
high school; but they are taking the high-school 
course under the present conditions, and the expense 
for maintaining this consolidated high school is 
much less than $15,000. The same could be said of 
a number of other schools. This is exceedingly 
typical, as the Farmers' Consolidated High School is 
an out-in-the-open-country school, nothing unusual 
about the roads, nothing unusual about the wealth 
of the community. It is a typical agricultural com- 
munity, and there is nothing unusual about the 
children. They are just Missouri boys and girls. 
There is something unusual about the community, 
however, for it has caught and applied this modern 
spirit which we are emphasizing in this chapter. 

3. The social arguments for consohdation are 
very important. Very few one-room schools can 
ever become any important social center, but it is 
the tendency of consolidated schools everywhere to 
become social centers. With a modern building, 



CONSOLIDATION 19 

such as the Missouri law requires, it may become a 
genuine community center. It should be the meet- 
ing place of all community organizations, such as 
boys' and girls' clubs, and the Home Makers' Club. 
Lecture courses, a grange, and even a Sunday School 
may make use of the good building. Such a school 
may become a fundamental factor in the making of 
a modern type of community life. It may do much 
to remove the isolation and lack of opportunity 
which now characterize rural life. It is our opinion 
that the well-organized rural school offers one of the 
most direct means of checking the movement from 
rural to urban life, and Missouri needs to take into 
account this important situation. Without any 
doubt, it may be made the means in this state, as it 
has been in other states, of a large expansion of social 
life in the country. 

4. Moral advantages. The moral advantages are 
also worth considering. We say that it is the in- 
herent right of every adolescent boy and girl in our 
democracy to have a high-school education, and yet 
retain the impor,tant privilege of living in their own 
home, where the counsel, sympathy, and love of 
father and mother may be given. During this 
important and critical stage of development, it is 
almost a hazard to send adolescent boys and girls 
away from home to town, or even to boarding schools 
of various types. Many of them may pass through 
this experience without serious difficulty or tragedy, 
but anyone who has had very much to do with boys 
and girls at this stage of development knows per- 
fectly well how many difficulties and even tragedies 
have been occasioned by this abrupt change of 



20 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

environment. Certainly it will be a glorious day in 
the history of the nation when a good high school 
may be brought near enough to all our boys and 
girls so that they shall have its privileges and advan- 
tages and at the same time live in their own homes. 
The present movement for consolidation offers a 
most promising field for the realization, in part, of 
this important dream. 

Summary of the Benefits of Consolidation. — In order 
to emphasize the values of consohdation, we sum- 
marize below the formal statements. 

1. Educational Values 

a. Increases the attendance. 

b. Makes attendance more regular. 

c. Increases the enrollment. 

d. Keeps the older pupils in school longer. 
6. Provides high-school privileges for all. 

/. Makes possible the securing of better- 
trained teachers. 

g. Makes possible more and better grade 
work. 

h. Increases the number of eighth - grade 
graduates. 

i. Provides adequate supervision. 

j. Reduces truancy and tardiness. 

k. Develops better school spirit. 

L Gives more time for recitations. 

w. Provides more and better-equipped build- 
ings. 

n. Eliminates the weak district school. 

0. Provides equal educational opportunities 
for all. 



CONSOLIDATION 21 

p. Course of study may be enlarged and 
enriched by special subjects, such as 
music, drawing, home economics, and 
manual training. 

2. Econoviic Values 

a. Improves industrial conditions in the 

country. 
6. Increases the value of real estate. 

c. Makes possible a more economic school. 

d. Saves the cost of sending children away 
to school or moving to town to educate 
them. 

e. Keeps the boys on the farm. 

3. Civic and Moral Values 

a. Enriches the civic social-life activity. 
6. Conserves the health and morals of 
children. 

c. Produces greater pride and interest in 
country life. 

d. Prevents the drift to the larger town^ and 
cities. 

e. Creates a school of greater worth, dignity, 
and usefulness. 

/. Makes the farm an ideal place to bring up 
children. 

g. It is the only means by which equality of 
opportunity may be secured to every 
child in a rural community to attend the 
free public-school system in order that he 
may acquire the education necessary for 
participation in the complex activities of 
modern life. 
Rapeer: The Consolidated School, pp. 14 and 15. 



22 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

It is of interest to know that the consohdation 
movement is being fostered in every way possible 
by the United States Bureau of Education, the United 
States Department of Agriculture, the National 
Education Association, the state departments of edu- 
cation, the state university, and the state teachers' 
colleges. 

Methods to be Employed in Consolidation. — In 
connection with the methods to be employed in 
making a consolidation, it is important to know 
accurately and in every detail the law under which 
the proposed consolidation is to be made. In the 
various states the laws may be secured direct from 
the county superintendent, and all the forms and 
comments necessary are usually printed in connec- 
tion with the law itself. 

1. It is highly important that a campaign for 
consolidation be well planned and directed. A 
consolidation is not a thing to be ^'put over." 
Therefore, the proposition should receive full and 
free discussion and it should be presented in a per- 
fectly candid and intelligent manner. Generally it 
is well to hold meetings in each one of the districts 
before any petition for consolidation has been pre- 
sented or published. At least one mass meeting for 
all the people in the territory affected should be held 
prior to the publishing of the petition, or very soon 
thereafter. In these meetings all the facts con- 
cerning consolidation, with its advantages and dis- 
advantages (if there are any), should be set out 
with perfect frankness. The actual cost of main- 
taining the local schools and the high school should 
be computed and presented to the mass meeting. 



CONSOLIDATION 23' 

As nearly as possible the cost for a new building or 
buildings should be given to the people at this mass 
meeting. These figures may be presented by the 
county superintendent or by some other well- 
informed person connected with the state depart- 
ment of education or some teachers' college or uni- 
versity. The important thing is that all of the 
issues be presented in such a way as to leave no 
doubt about the consolidation. It should be re- 
membered that the whole proposition of consol- 
idation is in a very large measure dependent on 
co-operation. 

2. Immediately before the election, at a general 
meeting held at some central point in the proposed 
district some good speakers, who are directly in- 
formed on the general methods of consoHdation, as 
well as thoroughly informed on educational matters, 
should address the people. Plenty of time should be 
given for discussion. It is useless, however, to allow 
some disgruntled member of the community to turn 
the meeting into a mere wrangle; and above all 
things, do not allow personalities of any sort to 
creep into the discussion. Whenever it is possible, 
some citizens of the community who are well in- 
formed should be invited to discuss the proposition. 
At all times the discussion should be carried on 
with good temper, perfect candor, and frankness. 
The ultimate success of the enterprise depends on a 
good community spirit and on the fine type of mod- 
ern co-operation, for it should be remembered that 
a consolidation in some respects makes a new neigh- 
borhood and a larger community. 

3. It is good social psychology to see that any 



24 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

petition is presented to every voter in the district 
before it is finally published, and we need to remem- 
ber that both men and women are voters. In many 
situations the women are much more interested in 
good school conditions than some of the men. This 
is good psychology, because we propose at the out- 
set to include all citizens in the new proposition. 
Moreover, the wide circulation of the petition is of 
some advantage in gauging the sentiment of the 
community in favor of the new proposition. 

4. In a number of states there are specialists on 
the staff of the state superintendent who are giving 
much of their time to rural school betterment, in- 
cluding consolidation and other community develop- 
ments. There are also departments of rural educa- 
tion in many of the teachers' colleges and universities. 
From these sources much help may be obtained in 
connection with this important work. 

The Chief Elements in a Good Consolidation Law. — A 
good consolidation law usually ignores the old 
district lines in the formation of a new district, for 
the very good reason that the old districts were laid 
out on the basis of some local community, whereas 
the new district involves a very much larger com- 
munity. Moreover, by ignoring the old lines, we 
may very often avoid certain community prejudices 
and factions. It is always better to have the voting 
for the new district take place in one center rather 
than in the separate districts, for the reasons we 
have just noted with reference to prejudices and 
cliques. It should always be the function of the 
county superintendent, as a judiciary officer, to 
look over the proposed new district, as he can take 



CONSOLIDATION 25 

into consideration the state relations of the com- 
munity as well as the needs of adjacent territory 
which may be left out of the new district. 

Subsidies offered from the state treasury for the 
construction of the new building and for the payment 
of teachers' salaries are usually helpful factors in 
securing consolidation. Moreover, along with these 
subsidies will go some good directions and helps, 
which are quite often necessary in order to secure 
the highest type of building and equipment and 
the teacher with the necessary training, if the dis- 
trict is to have the sort of school which ought to be 
maintained. 

Every good consohdation law ought to make it 
possible to have high-school instruction. Consolida- 
tion should not be brought about unless a first-class 
high school can be maintained by the territory in- 
cluded in the new district. Consequently, a law 
which does not make provision for this will prove 
inadequate and unsatisfactory. 

Transportation. — One of the complex matters in 
connection with consolidation of schools is the con- 
veyance of pupil's to the central school or the high 
school. In the very nature of the case, transporta- 
tion adds materially to the cost of running the 
school, and some American citizens are opposed to 
spending money on such a scheme. However, it 
should be observed that pubhc transportation of 
pupils is not always a necessary part of the program 
of consohdation, and in many states there is no 
requirement for transportation of pupils when the 
new district is formed. Of course, there are some 
difficulties in connection with transportation if the 



26 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

territory is very large and the roads happen to 
be poor; but with the present movement all over 
the country for better roads, it would seem that 
transportation may be quite possible in the older 
communities. 

In some cases the transportation problem is settled 
by allowing each family to get its own children to 
school, with a small subsidy granted to the parents. 
A more common w^ay, however, is by establishing 
transportation routes over which a wagon or an 
automobile makes regular trips to bring the children 
to school and to return them at the proper time. 
The important features of this plan are that the 
route should not be too long to be traversed in 
a reasonable time; a definite schedule should be 
maintained; and obviously the vehicle, whether 
automobile or ordinary wagon, should be perfectly 
safe. It is highly important that the driver be a 
man on whom there can be complete dependence in 
every way. 

Definite reports from Connecticut, Ohio, Indiana, 
Iowa, Colorado, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and 
other states indicate that transportation of pupils 
is coming into use rapidly, and there do not seem to 
be any valid arguments against this form of service. 
The expense differs in different states because of 
local conditions. The cost per day per child varies 
from ten to twenty-five cents, with an average of 
about fifteen cents per day per child. 

The chief advantages of public transportation 
undoubtedly are that the health of the children is 
conserved and there is always a much more regular 
attendance. 



CONSOLIDATION 27 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY 

1. Make a careful studj^ of the provisions for consoli- 
dation in your own state. 

2. How long has your state had a consolidation law? 
How many schools have been consolidated in your 
state? How has the scheme worked? 

3. Study carefull}^ your nearest consolidated school. 

4. What are the points in favor of consolidation? 

5. What are the arguments for and against state sub- 
sidies for school buildings in consolidated districts? 
Also subsidies for teachers' salaries? 

6. Have you a provision in your state for transpor- 
tation? What is the average cost per pupil? 

7. Work out in detail a plan for consolidation for some 
districts in your county. 

8. Show that any plan for consolidation of schools must 
keep in mind the ultimate good of all of the schools 
of the county. 

READINGS 

Betts and Hall : Better Rural Schools, Part IV. 
Cubberley: Rural Life and Education, Chap. X. 
Dressier: Rural Schools and Grounds. — U. S. Bureau of 

Education, Bulletin No. 12, 1914. 
Foght: The Ainerican Rural School, pp. 301-330. 
Kern: Among Country Schools, Chap. XII. 
Knorr: Consolidated Rural Schools. 
Report of the Committee on Larger Unit for Administration. 

— Missouri State Teachers' Association. 



CHAPTER IV. 

SCHOOL FINANCES. 

Education an Investment. — Since the foundation of 
the republic, and even in colonial days, it has been 
urged that education in a democracy is primarily 
a social investment and that it should not be con- 
sidered an expenditure from any point of view. That 
is to say, no matter how much we may spend in the 
right sort of education, the return to society is always 
greater than the sum expended. Elaborate sta- 
tistics might be offered in support of this proposi- 
tion, from both an economic and a social standpoint, 
but it is not advisable here to go into detail. A 
few facts, however, will be of interest. 

Unskilled laborers in this country commonly do 
not earn more than $600 per annum. If the worker 
finds employment at this rate for forty years, taking 
the working period from twenty to sixty, he has 
earned only $24,000 in a lifetime. It has been shown 
conclusively that graduates of the ordinary high- 
school course or of a technical course at the same 
academic level earn not less than $900 per year. 
This course might be completed before the age of 
twenty. This worker would earn during a lifetime 
of forty working years $36,000, which is a gain of 
$12,000 as a result 'of a period of four years' addi- 
tional training. Recently some very conclusive 
data were presented to show that the earnings of 
college graduates, or for those having the equivalent 
in technical education, were at the rate of $2,000 



SCHOOL FINANCES 29 

per year or SSO,000 for a lifetime's earning. Or 
putting it another way : in a lifetime a college gradu- 
ate or a technically trained worker puts in eight years 
of preliminary work and earns $44,000 more tlian an 
unskilled worker. We may deduct the cost of the 
training at the rate of $500 per year for eight years, 
which would make $4,000, and still have a balance 
of $40,000 in favor of the trained man. It should 
be observed that the college-trained worker usually 
gets to his task a little later than the unskilled work- 
er, but he is better able to go on with it to the age of 
sixty-five or seventy. 

Of course this is not a conclusive argument for a 
college education for every worker, but it does show 
that skill brings its economic reward, and therefore 
we might properly educate the children of a com- 
munity or the state as a good business proposition. 
The more important argument, however, is that the 
skilled worker is always the better contented be- 
cause of the mastery of his tasks, and he is better en- 
abled to enjoy the spiritual inheritances which have 
been wrought out by the race. 

A Brief History of School Finance. — In the early 
history of this country, public schools were sup- 
ported by rate bills issued on parents or guardians, 
by subscriptions which were paid by parents or 
guardians of the children, and sometimes by lot- 
teries which were run by communities or even by 
states. Licenses to engage in certain forms of busi- 
ness were issued at different times for the support of 
schools; the proceeds from the sale of stray live 
stock was used in certain states; it was a common 
practice to impose fines for various misdemeanors to 
be turned into the school funds; indeed, that prac- 
tice is common still in many states. 



30 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

In 1647 Massachusetts passed a law which per- 
mitted communities to tax themselves for the sup- 
port of public education. By 1870 all of the states 
of the Union, at that time, had passed laws per- 
mitting rural communities to tax themselves for 
education. In many states these laws provided the 
maximum and minimum limits within which tax- 
ation should be levied. It is difficult to make a 
significant general statement for the whole country 
at present. It may be said, however, that nearly 
every state in the Union provides a minimum rate 
of local taxation for school purposes, and that most 
states provide a maximum rate. 

Forms of Support. —At the present time, public edu- 
cation is supported in three general ways: 1. From 
interest on permanent funds. 2. From state levies 
on the whole taxable wealth of the state of special 
properties of one kind or another. 3. From local 
taxation. 

Permanent Funds. —Every state in the Union at 
present has some form of permanent state funds, 
the interest from which is used for public education. 
These funds vary from more than $50,000,000 in the 
state of Texas down to $50,000 in the state of South 
Carolina. These funds have accrued from the sale 
of lands granted by the Federal government begin- 
ning with the ordinance of 1785. Several million 
acres of land have been granted by the Federal 
government to states for school purposes. In 1836 
surplus funds then in the United States Treasury to 
the amount of $28,000,000 were distributed to 
twenty-seven states, and practically all this money 
went into the permanent school funds of the various 
states. In 1850 an act known as the Swamp Land 
Act was passed by Congress. Under this act about 



SCHOOL FINANCES 31 

forty-eight million acres of land were given to cer- 
tain states, and the proceeds from the sale of this 
land have been used for school purposes. In certain 
states many thousand acres of saline lands were 
similarly donated by the Federal government. The 
states sold this land and put the purchase money into 
the permanent school funds. In some states the 
school funds have been materially increased by the 
proceeds of war claims against the United States 
government. 

In addition to the permanent funds secured from 
Federal grants and other sources indicated in the 
foregoing paragraph, a number of states have set 
aside immense areas of land which have been sold 
or rented, the proceeds from which have been in- 
vested for school purposes. These permanent state 
funds, now, may be held in the form of state bonds, 
permanent certificates of indebtedness, or even 
United States Government Bonds. 

One of the saddest pictures in all educational his- 
tory is that of the mal-administration of public 
school funds. In virtually every state in the Amer- 
ican Union the funds have been misused, mis- 
managed, and dissipated. One authority estimates 
that at least fifty million dollars has been lost to 
these funds in the various states of the Union, 
and this is a mere pittance as compared with the 
vast loss which has been occasioned by the sale of 
lands at less than their real values. In some states 
the school lands, some of which are now valued at 
$300 per acre, were sold immediately after the 
Civil War for forty cents an acre. 

County Funds. — Many counties have separate 
school funds, and even township and school districts 
have special funds. These funds are administered 



32 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

by the county court, township board, or even dis- 
trict boards. 

Purpose of Permanent State Funds. —The purpose 
and value of permanent state school funds can be 
readily recognized when we take into account a 
principle which was stated in a preceding paragraph, 
namely, that education in a free democracy is the 
concern not only of the local community, but of the 
state as well. These permanent funds should be 
administered in such a way as to equalize somewhat 
the burdens of taxation, but more to the end that 
equal opportunities for an education may be afforded 
to all the children of the state. It may be added that 
in a good many states in the Union the administra- 
tion of the funds has not been conducted in such a 
way as to provide for the realization of this last- 
mentioned purpose. 

Of the total sum spent for public education, which 
is now more than $900,000,000 annually, not more 
than four or five per cent, is provided from the 
permanent funds. 

State Taxation. —In all the states of the American 
Union, some form of state taxation is provided for 
the support and maintenance of the public schools. 
In many of the states a certain amount of the gross 
general revenue is set apart for this purpose. This 
sum varies from a very small percentage to thirty- 
three and a third per cent. In other states a specific 
tax is made on certain forms of taxable wealth, as 
corporations, etc. In a few states, California and 
Minnesota for example, royalties are collected on 
various mine products. About twenty per cent, 
of the total revenue for the support of schools is 
raised by these forms of taxation. 

Local Taxation. — More than seventy per cent, of the 



SCHOOL FINANCES 33 

total revenue for the support of schools arises from 
some form of local taxation. This tax may be levied 
on the county as a whole, on the city or town, the 
township or even on a single one-room school dis- 
trict. Undoubtedly, the American people believe in 
the principle that schools should be supported largely 
by local taxation on the general assumption that 
those most directly interested should bear the bur- 
den for the education of their own children, or at 
least make it a community matter. 

As we study the various local schemes for taxa- 
tion, we are profoundly impressed with the crudity 
and injustice of the application made of the principle. 
Where the district taxation system prevails it is not 
at all uncommon for a local district to levy as heavy 
a rate of tax as the state constitution will permit, 
and still be unable to maintain a good school. 
Whereas, a neighboring district makes almost no 
levy but, because of its wealth, may have a very fine 
school. This is indefensible in a democracy, for the 
reason that those who pay the most do not secure 
privileges comparable to those who do not tax them- 
selves. In some states subsidies from the state 
funds are being granted to equalize these conditions, 
but it should be observed that there is no basis on 
which we can defend a system of taxation which 
makes two neighbors who live just across the road 
from each other, and happen to be in different school 
districts, pay two different school-tax rates, and 
with results out of proportion to the rates paid. This 
system is at variance with the very spirit of Ameri- 
canism. Undoubtedly the local form of taxation 
should not be administered on a district basis, but 
on a township or, better still, on a county basis. 
State Aid or Subsidy.— In the foregoing paragraph 



34 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

it was noted that state aid in some states is granted 
to weak school districts. Though this serves a good 
purpose, it is doubtful if it should be the permanent 
solution of a problem. A special kind of state aid is 
that granted in some states on the condition that 
the local district shall provide for certain special 
forms of training such as drawing, music, household 
arts, agriculture, teacher-training for teachers for the 
elementary schools and various other forms of in- 
dustrial and vocational education. 

Apportionment of Funds. — The basis on which the 
income from permanent state funds should be appor- 
tioned is a matter of prime importance. Changes in 
wealth and population, resulting from the movement 
from rural to urban life, have emphasized the inequal- 
ities of distribution on the basis of population or 
wealth. These bases are unfair, moreover, because 
there is no direct correlation between the aggregate 
population and the needs of school children, just as 
there is no correlation between the accumulation of 
wealth in a great cominercial center and the needs of 
the schools. Again, in sparsely settled districts, 
neither of these plans would furnish a suitable basis. 
Another basis has been the enumeration of school 
children, which has proved unsatisfactory because, 
even though the children are in the community, it 
does not follow that they may be in public schools. 
They may be in attendance at parochial schools or 
may be over the compulsory attendance age. An- 
other basis has been the school enrollment or regis- 
tration. This is not entirely fair because mere enroll- 
ment does not imply attendance. 

A distribution based upon attendance permits of 
a more equitable division than the plan heretofore 
discussed, for the reason that the total number of 



SCHOOL FINANCES 35 

days attended by the child gives a definite presump- 
tion of service rendered and results obtained. The 
teacher basis, also, constitutes a definite and positive 
factor, for the reason that the teacher has had pre- 
scribed for her certain qualifications and must spend 
so many hours of her time per day in the matter of 
school management and instruction. A third factor 
which also deserves consideration is the need of the 
local community for funds. 

Probably the best apportionment laws which are 
in force at the present time distribute the public 
funds partly on a teacher basis and partly on an 
attendance basis; with legislative provisions for 
special aid to take care of peculiar needs due to 
sparse population or low values. But not very many 
states in the Union have their apportionment laws 
based on these principles. Most of the laws are an- 
tiquated, being based on wealth or on an enumeration 
plan, and should be revised and brought into har- 
mony with the principles stated above. Probably 
the best laws at present are those in force in Cali- 
fornia, Minnesota, and Missouri. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Make a study of the wages of unskilled labor in your 
community. Do any teachers in your county fall 
below this average? Why? 

2. Are the highest paid workers in your community 

college graduates? 

3. Have the highly paid workers who are not college 
graduates had any special training for their work? 

4. Make a study of all the permanent school funds in 
your state — include state, county, and township 
funds. How have these funds been managed? 



36 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

5. What is the value and purpose of permanent school 
funds? 

6. What per cent, of the total expenditure for educa- 
tion comes from the permanent school funds? 

7. State all the ways in which your state supports edu- 
cation. What proportion is this of the whole sum 
expended for education? 

8. How is local taxation levied in your state? What 
proportion is it of the total amount expended for 
education? 

9. How are the school funds in your state apportioned? 
Have you the best plan? Why? 

10. Is education adequately supported in your districts? 
Your county? Your state? How can conditions be 
bettered? 

11. What connection do you see between the support of 
education, teaching efficiency, and teachers' salaries? 

READINGS. 

Cubberley: School Funds and Their Apportionment. 
Elhot: More Money for the Public Schools. 
Elliot: Some Fiscal Aspects of Education. 
Strayer: City School Expenditure. 

Swift, F. H.: History of Public Permanent Common School 
Funds in the United States. 



CHAPTER V. 

SUPERVISION. 

The Need for Supervision. — One of the characteristic 
features of modern civihzation is the more careful 
and scientific supervision of social institutions. A 
great railway system employs a section boss as an 
expert supervisor over a half dozen section hands. 
In a well-organized department store we find a man- 
ager over a dozen salesmen or saleswomen. In any 
factory we find a foreman, who supervises some 
relatively small number of workers. A pit boss in 
a mine is responsible for ten or fifteen fellow-workers. 
The Government recognizes the value of trained in- 
spectors throughout the whole postal service. We 
might enumerate many other closely supervised sit- 
uations in industrial and civic life. It is a startling 
thought, that notwithstanding the fact that we have 
millions of dollars invested in school plants and 
equipments, and spend more than six hundred million 
dollars a year on public education, we have not as 
yet evolved any adequate means of supervision for 
rural schools. 

Elimination of Waste. —We must devise a better 
system of administration and supervision in order 
to eliminate much of the waste which is going on in 
connection with school work at the present time. 
Many large city systems of the country have elab- 
orate administrative machinery; in fact, it is thought 
that some great city systems are over-supervised. 
We may have a city superintendent; with assistant 



38 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

superintendents, district superintendents and ward- 
school principals, and many supervisors of special 
subjects, including music, drawing, penmanship, 
manual training, and household arts; while some cities 
have special supervisors in the ordinary subjects, 
such as English, history, and arithmetic. But cer- 
tainly most town and rural schools are not over- 
supervised. In the small town the ward-school 
principal commonly is a grade teacher and does not 
have any considerable amount of time for actual 
schoolroom supervision. In the rural school a 
county superintendent has entrusted to him a very 
large amount of office work and the supervision of 
from forty to two hundred teachers, who are scat- 
tered over a wide territory. Under such conditions, 
he can make one, or at most two, short visits to 
each school during the term. This is not supervision, 
or inspection in any real sense. It does not give 
time for proper advice, because the superintendent 
is not in the school long enough to make such a 
critical study of the needs as to be able to give much 
advice. 

Need of Reorganization. —There is urgent need of a 
more adequate organization for the supervision of 
public education in nearly every state in the Union; 
New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey, and Idaho 
being the notable exceptions. This reorganization 
should begin with the State Department of Educa- 
tion, which should be removed from politics, and the 
members of the department selected in such a way 
as to secure educational experts. Space does not 
warrant any elaborate discussion of this problem; 
it must be pointed out, however, that this removal 
from politics is an essential pre-requisite to the effi- 
cient supervision of state schools. 



SUPERVISION 39 

At present it seems best to have a state board of 
education, made up of high-class business and pro- 
fessional men, whose function it will be to select the 
Commissioner of Education on the sole basis of ca- 
pacity and ability to render service. The commis- 
sioner should be selected for a long period—four or 
six years at least— and should be paid a salary which 
will attract to the office the very best-equipped men 
in the country. The commissioner should be allowed 
to select his own assistants, on the sole basis of ex- 
perience and fitness for the positions to be filled. 
The number of these assistants will depend on the 
requirements of the educational institutions of the 
state. It seems strange that we recognize these 
principles in business matters, but cannot recognize 
them as fundamental in the important matter of 
education. We can pass a law for the appointment 
of a public-utilities commission and trust the gov- 
ernor to select experts for this service, and, on the 
whole, in most states, the governor has been wise 
enough to choose very competent men to perform 
the work. Yet we insist on selecting a state super- 
intendent who lias been nominated at a general 
primar>^, for a position which as definitely requires 
an expert in every way as does the work performed 
by any public-utilities commission. 

County Superintendent. —The most important office 
in relation to improving conditions in rural-school 
supervision is the county superintendency. Almost 
any sort of county superintendent will do some good, 
but the importance of the work merits the selection 
of a high-class educational expert. The office should 
be entirely removed from politics and only a person 
of undoubted experience and quahfications should 
be selected for the work. 



40 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

In some states the county superintendent is 
selected at the annual meeting or at the regular 
general elections. The candidate may have been 
nominated by some form of party convention or 
primary. In any event, except in two or three 
states, no provision is made by law to insure a high 
degree of competency for the position. Some years 
ago every up-to-date city school system, through its 
board of education, secured power to select an edu- 
cational expert for its superintendent, with no re- 
striction of any kind as to residence or political 
affiliation; and yet we seem unwilling to apply this 
same well-recognized principle to the small towns or 
county superintendents. The recognition of this 
principle is necessary before we can secure effective 
supervision. 

The county superintendent should have adequate 
office help and assistants in the actual work of super- 
vising the schools. It would be a joke, if it were 
not a ^^ near- tragedy,'^ to expect a county super- 
intendent to supervise so many separate school 
districts, when the average length of term for those 
districts is about one hundred days. No superin- 
tendent, unaided, can adequately supervise more 
than forty teachers, even when there are only short 
distances to be traveled from one school to the 
other. Then, too, special supervisors should be pro- 
vided for special subjects, as it is difficult to find a 
single supervisor who is competent to give expert 
advice in all the common-school subjects and special 
subjects now required. Provision should be made so 
that the county superintendent may have enough 
assistants to provide one supervisor for each thirty 
or forty teachers. 

We must further recognize the fact that the new 



SUPERVISION 41 

demands on the school, in the form of vocational 
education, require more adequate supervision and 
academic and technical training for the supervisor. 
The elementary schools of the county would, under 
such a reorganization as this, move towards efficiency 
by leaps and bounds. In a few states we have rural 
school inspectors to reinforce the work of the county 
superintendent, but usually there are not enough of 
them to get very much of the work done. Their 
value consists chiefly in helping county superintend- 
ents to set adequate standards. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Show why expert supervision is economical. 

2. Prove (by citing instances) that business enterprises 
profit by expert supervision. 

3. Which are more efficient, urban or rural schools? 
Why? 

4. Describe the supervisory machinery of some large 
city system of schools. 

5. What is the title of the state supervisor of schools in 
your state? Give his eligibility, manner of election, 
tenure of office, salary, and duties. What change, if 
any, should be made in any of the foregoing items? 

6. Have you county superintendents in your state? 
Tell of their eligibility, manner of election, tenure of 
office, and duties. 

7. How could the efficiency of the county superintend- 
ent in your state be increased? 

8. Is it possible to secure good expert supervision by 
means of popular elections? Give reasons for your 
answer. 



A2 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

9. How much actual direct supervision should the state 
superintendent do? 

10. Lay out a plan for the adequate supervision of all 
the schools in your county. 

n. Formulate a scheme for measuring and recording 
the efficiency of teachers supervised by a city super- 
intendent; a county superintendent. 



READINGS. 

Betts and Hall: Better Rural Schools, Chap. XXI. 
Cubberley: Rural Life and Education, Chap. XIII. 
Dutton and Snedden: The Administration of Public Edu- 
cation in the United States, Chap. VI. and VII. 



CHAPTER VI. 

SCHOOL GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS. 

The discussion in this chapter relates primarily 
to the one-room school, though some of the principles 
may be applied with equal usefulness to the con- 
struction of larger buildings. 

Grounds.— The location and grounds for country 
schools have received little consideration. The law 
usually provides that the building be placed as near 
the geographical center of the district as possible, 
and this has often prevented the selection of good 
school sites and has resulted in the location of many 
positively bad ones. 

The school should be accessible to all the children 
of the district, and it is important that it be located 
upon good, porous soil, preferably of some sandy 
formation, which may be easily drained and used 
for agricultural work and gardening activities v/hich 
belong to the school. The playground, especially, 
should be so situated as to drain readily. The 
grounds should be made attractive by planting trees 
and shrubs. The observance of a few Arbor days 
will enable the teacher and the children to secure a 
very beautiful yard. 

The school grounds should be large enough to 
allow plenty of play room and should be kept in 
such a way as to make them suitable for recreation. 
The time is past when children should be expected 
to become trespassers in the neighbors' fields. We 
have yet to realize the full value of play for country 



44 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

children. Many parents think children do not need 
to play when they have plenty of farm work to do, 
but there is a difference between work and play. 

The consolidated or union schools should have 
enough room for agricultural demonstration pur- 
poses. The one-room school should have not less 
than two acres of good ground belonging to it, 
and a consolidated school might have four or five 
acres. 

In towns and cities care should be taken to con- 
struct buildings for elementary school purposes on 
such sites as will not be so near to other buildings as 
to shut out the light; nor should they be near objec- 
tionable resorts, such as saloons, pool-rooms, etc. 

The Building. — From almost any standpoint, rural 
school architecture presents a sad picture. A vast 
majority of these one-room schools are of the box- 
car type; they have length, breadth, and height, 
but no ^^ shape.'' Society has yet to realize the 
necessity of working in a shop thoroughly suited to 
the task. Moreover, we do not appreciate the value 
of suitable environment as an essential factor in the 
educational process. Undoubtedly, it would pay 
well, as a mere economic investment, to construct 
good school buildings with attractive exterior and 
interior, and much more would it be worth while in 
helping to secure an appreciation of the school as an 
institution, — to say nothing about training in aes- 
thetics. There should be an expert architect on the 
staff of the state superintendent, whose business it 
would be to supervise in person or by deputy the 
construction of all school buildings. His supervision 
ought to include the construction of all school 
buildings in the country, and in the villages and 
towns where no other architect has been employed. 



GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS 45 

Dimensions for Buildings. — There are no final rules 
for the construction of one-room schools. As has 
been said many times, each child should have at 
least twenty square feet of floor space. Taking such 
a measure as this, a schoolroom 32 x 24 feet might 
be large enough for thirty-eight or forty pupils. 
This does not include cloak-room space or library 
space; and allowance should be made for the stove 
and drinking fountain. The ceilings in a one-room 
school need not be more than twelve or thirteen 
feet high. A great many considerations enter into 
the discussion when we come to estimate the size 
for the ideal schoolroom; among those of importance 
may be mentioned the fact that the schoolroom 
should never be so large that the ordinary speaking 
voice of the teacher or child cannot be heard in any 
part of it; maps and charts or blackboard work 
should be seen readily from any part of the room 
when it is well lighted. A room should be longer 
than it is wide, and where the lighting is from one 
side only, it is necessary to have the room con- 
siderably longer than it is wide to secure the proper 
amount of light. 

Basement Room. — Every school building, whether 
it is to be a one-room school or larger, should have a 
basement under the entire structure. This adds much 
to the value of the plant, while the added expense of 
construction is small compared with its usefulness. 
The basement should be well constructed, with a 
concrete floor and walls, and have perfect drainage. 
Part of it may be used for the furnace and fuel- 
room, but it should be so arranged as to provide a 
playroom for bad weather, and the children may use 
it for a lunch-room. In large or consolidated dis- 
tricts it provides a place for manual-training and 



46 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

household-arts equipment; and it is possible to 
have laboratories and toilets located in it. 

Cloak-Rooms. — Wraps, rubbers and overshoes 
should not be taken into the schoolroom. A sep- 
arate cloak-room, even though small, should be pro- 
vided for both boys and girls. The cloak-rooms 
should be so arranged that the children may pass 
through them before entering the schoolroom proper. 
Where there is no special room for lunch-boxes or 
baskets they may be deposited in the cloak-room. 

Lighting. — We have come to appreciate most 
thoroughly the great importance of schoolroom 
lighting. Many of the older school buildings, how- 
ever, still present very unhygienic situations. The 
amount of window space required depends upon sev- 
eral conditions. It varies from one-sixth to one- 
fourth of the floor space of the room. All rooms 
should be lighted on one side, and in no case should 
the light fall into the faces of the children or the 
teacher. In general it is best to have the east Hght, 
and this would make the building face west. There 
are some small objections to this, but they are of no 
significance when compared with the value of having 
good light. Under no circumstance should the 
building be lighted so the light rays cross in the rooms. 
Where it is necessary in warm climates to have win- 
dows for ventilation purposes, these should be 
placed in the rear, at the top of the room. Such 
windows should be almost to the ceiling and only 
two or three feet square, or of such proportions as 
to go well with the schoolroom. When the east 
light is used the problem of window shades is most 
easily solved, for the light will come through shades in 
the morning and they may be left drawn in the 
afternoon. 



GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS 47 

Ventilation. — Everywhere the need of pure air is 
being recognized. We know its value in the home 
and in the sleeping-porch or the open sleeping-room. 
It is almost a fad, but it is a good one. The prob- 
lem in respect to the school, however, is a much more 
difficult one than for the home, because it is impos- 
sible to secure changes in the atmosphere with suf- 
ficient rapidity to insure its purity. In the ordinary 
schoolroom we may have twenty-five or thirty chil- 
dren, with an air space of not much more than 
double that of the living-room in many homes where 
only four or five people live. This makes it nec- 
essary to use artificial means to cause rapid move- 
ments of the air, and the problem is all the more 
difficult in warm weather. 

The Use of Windows. — Ordinary ventilation, by use 
of windows, is very inferior, especially in cold weath- 
er and where the windows are on one side of the 
room. Care should be taken to allow the air to 
come in from all of the windows rather than from 
one. Window boards may be used in cold weather, 
and in extremely cold climates double windows are 
of much value. When there is no other ventila- 
tion, the room should be thoroughly flushed by low- 
ering all the windows and opening the doors at each 
recess time. Of course this may be something of a 
tax on the heating arrangements, if the system is 
not adequate, but it is imperative that the children 
should not be forced to work in a poorly ventilated 
schoolroom. It has been estimated that children in 
the elementary school should have from two to 
three thousand cubic feet of pure air per hour, so 
provision must be made for cleansing the air of the 
ordinary schoolroom every few minutes. 

Proper Temperature. — There has been much dis- 



48 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

cussion concerning the proper temperature for good 
working conditions in the schoolroom. No absolute 
statement can be made, because climatic conditions 
and humidity are important features in determining 
a comfortable temperature. In localities where the 
climate is moist and the temperature is moderate 
throughout the year, a maximum of sixty-five degrees 
Fahrenheit is commonly prescribed; but in many 
parts of this country, where the winter is severe and 
the humidity is low, it is necessary to raise the tem- 
perature to sixty-eight or seventy degrees in order 
to secure comfort. 

Methods of Heating. — The schoolroom may be 
heated by an open fire, a stove, hot-air furnace, steam 
or hot water. 

1. The Open Fire. — The old-time method of heat- 
ing the schoolroom was the open fireplace. In some 
respects this was excellent, because it furnished 
good ventilation, but as a method of heating it 
has been discarded because it requires a great deal 
of attention and is exceedingly wasteful of fuel. If 
the fireplace could be screened and supervised in 
order to minimize the dangers of fire, it might still 
be used as a valuable aid to ventilation. The 
children could be allowed to come near it when 
shoes or clothing are slightly damp; furthermore, it 
gives cheerfulness to the room. 

2. Stoves. — Eight out of ten rural schools are 
heated by the ordinary unjacketed stoves, most of 
which are of the plain box type, and probably half 
the village schools are heated in the same way. 
These stoves are usually placed near the middle of 
the class-room, so that those children near the 
stove are overwarm, on one side at least, and those 
at a distance from it are too cold for comfort, while 



GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS 49 

the floors are always cold. Even temperature for 
the whole room cannot be secured or maintained 
from such heating. Moreover, it does not provide 
for ventilation and, unless care is taken, the air is 
usually deprived of moisture. Of course, this last 
difficulty might be remedied somewhat by placing a 
large open vessel of water on the stove. This 
form of heating should be prohibited by law, because 
it is wholly unsatisfactory and is actually inhuman 
and cruel. Every reader of this paragraph who has 
attended a rural school heated by a stove has been 
tortured many times with a burnt face and cold 
feet. 

3. Jacketed Stoves. — It is not difficult or expensive 
to transform the ordinary stove into a jacketed stove 
by changing the stove to one corner of the room and 
encasing it with ordinary sheet-iron, set out a few 
inches from the stove. An opening is left in the 
iron so that the stove door is accessible. The casing 
should extend to the floor and reach a foot or two 
above the top of the stove. The stove should be sel 
in the northwesjb corner of the room, to secure the 
best ventilation, and the foul-air exhaust should be 
across the room in the opposite corner. The cold- 
air duct should come from the outside of the school- 
house and open immediately under the stove into 
this jacket. This will aid the ventilation somewhat 
and keep the stove from over-heating. This scheme 
will not supply sufficient ventilation except in ex- 
treme weather, as the amount of pure air which 
comes in through the duct is not ample for the needs 
of the ordinary schoolroom. Several firms now man- 
ufacture special stoves for this purpose. The 
Waterman- Waterbury and the Smith are two of the 
well-known ones. The jacketed stove furnishes good 



50 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

heat and is so simple that its operation is easy for 
the teacher or janitor. 

4. Hot-Air Furnaces. — The hot-air furnace is sim- 
ply a large stove located in the basement of the 
building, with a jacket so constructed about it that 
heat is sent up to the room or rooms through metal 
ducts. The hot-air furnace is undoubtedly the best 
form of heating for small buildings. In severe 
weather it helps very considerably in ventilation. 
It may be operated by any teacher or an untrained 
janitor. There is no danger of freezing when the 
fire is not on, as is the case with steam and hot-water 
systems. This is an important item, because there 
are two holidays each week for the school building. 
It is a very simple matter to secure moisture for the 
schoolroom by this means of heat, as a pan may be 
placed in such a way as to allow the moisture to be 
taken up by the air before it enters the schoolroom. 

There are some limitations and disadvantages in 
the use of the hot-air system of heating; among those 
most evident is the difficulty of operating it in such 
a way as to secure a uniform temperature on very 
windy days or when the weather is exceedingly cold. 
The hot-air furnace requires a greater amount of 
fuel than steam-heat or hot-water heating. The 
technical possibilities of the hot-air furnace have not 
been developed and it is a matter of much difficulty 
to get a really effective furnace installed, one that 
is large enough and located in the proper place, with 
the ducts of a proper size and material. To insure 
good service, the installation of a hot-air furnace in 
a one-room school should be supervised by some 
wholly disinterested expert. 

5. Steam Heating and Hot-Water Heating. — Steam 
heating and hot-water heating are too expensive 



GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS 51 

for small school buildings. The initial cost is too 
large and the expense of operating, because expert 
janitor service is required, makes them wholly un- 
suitable for small buildings, and, again, they present 
a serious problem for the Saturday and Sunday holi- 
days unless a janitor is employed all the time, and 
even then the expense would be too large for a small 
plant. 

Humidity. — Only recently we have begun to appre- 
ciate the necessity for a proper amount of moisture 
in the air used in our residences and schoolrooms. 
Formerly, the only consideration was temperature. 
Now we know that it is necessary for the room to 
have a proper degree of moisture in order that health 
and comfort may be insured. All of us who have 
been pupils in a stove-heated, one-room school have 
been sufferers from ^^ parched air.'^ The stove burnt 
the air until it became so dry that our throats and 
nasal passages were irritated by breathing it. Breath- 
ing such air is dangerous, because it makes us much 
more susceptible to colds, pneumonia, diphtheria, 
and all the diseases of the respiratory organs. The 
so-called epidemics, including measles, smallpox, 
whooping-cough, croup, and pneumonia usually oc- 
cur at a time of year when school children have been 
crowded into poorly ventilated schoolrooms during 
cold weather; the home contributing also, because 
it is poorly ventilated during this same season. The 
methods of determining humidity are too complex 
for discussion in such a treatise as this. The reader 
is referred to Dresslar's School Hygiene ^ for a good 
discussion of the subject. 

Desks. — One of the most important helps in making 

^Dresslar: School Hygiene, pp. 202-219. 



52 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the schoolroom a good work-shop is to have it prop- 
erly seated. A good deal has been written about the 
hygienic requirements for school desks, but not much 
has been actually accomplished in the manufacture 
of a perfect desk, and much less in getting the desk 
installed in school buildings. The school desk should 
provide for the comfort of the child. The back 
should fit the form and size of the body, and the top 
should be constructed so as to be easil} adjustable 
to the angle of reading and the angle of writing. 
Particular care should be taken that the backs of 
the seats fit the children; otherwise there is danger 
of causing curvature of the spine. Single seats and 
single desks are more expensive, but their values 
are so obvious that no school board should consider 
installing any other kind. 

Blackboards. — Blackboards may be constructed of 
wood, liquid slate-cement, real slate and glass. For 
the ordinary one-room school or even the four-room 
consolidated school, possibly the best board is a 
slate, or glass board, but they are proportionately 
too expensive in one-room or even four-room schools. 
If the slate-cement is put on properly it furnishes a 
very good board and will last for many years. The 
most satisfactory color for a blackboard is a dull 
black, although the right tint of green is also satis- 
factory. The liquid-slate, which has been used a 
great deal lately, cannot be recommended, because it 
is impossible to prevent the plastering from disin- 
tegrating and discoloring it. 

The blackboards should not be placed on the side 
of the room where the windows are located, and 
under no circumstances should the blackboards be 
placed immediately adjoining the windows. Care 
must be taken that a board is not placed too high for 



GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS 53 

the small children; for very small children it should 
come down to within two or one and one-half feet 
of the floor. Good chalk troughs, sufficiently wide 
to hold the erasers and deep enough to catch the 
chalk dust, should be constructed just beneath the 
blackboard. It is a good plan to have a small wire 
mesh placed across the trough, so the dust may go 
through it and the erasers do not rest in the chalk 
dust. This trough should be constructed in such a 
way that it may be turned up when we desire to 
clean the dust out. This device is very simple and 
inexpensive and prevents the scattering of dust 
through the atmosphere. 

Toilets. — The toilet problem has not received any 
considerable degree of attention in connection with 
the rural school and the rural home. In towns and 
villages where there is no sewer system the conditions 
in both the homes and schools are very little, if any, 
better than in the country. We must attack the 
problem with intelligence and earnestness at once. 
This should be done in the interest of decency, sani- 
tation, and morals. It is not possible to present a 
detailed discussion of the problems in such a book 
as this. The author desires to point out, however, 
that the ordinary toilet facilities for both home and 
school in the country or small towns are a sad re- 
flection on our advanced stage of civilization. Very 
commonly they are so constructed as to be exposed 
to flies, which carry filth everywhere. They are 
sources of diseases of various kinds, and therefore 
are a direct menace to the health of the home and 
community. It has been accurately estimated that 
more than half of the rural and small-town schools 
have unsanitary outhouses. It is a shame and a 
disgrace to modern civilization that these conditions 



54 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

exist. How much uncleanliness of thought and life 
has been suggested by the unsanitary school toilet 
we can never estimate, but it is well known that no 
part of the school environment presents such awful 
possibilities for immorality as does the school toilet. 

The Water Supply. — The importance of a good sup- 
ply of pure water cannot be overestimated. Re- 
cently the author looked over some statistics from 
several counties in which the water provided for 
rural schools had been carefully studied, and it was 
discovered that, even in well-to-do communities, not 
more than one school in ten had a never-failing 
supply of pure water. A shallow well, or spring, or 
even an unkept well, commonly furnished the sup- 
ply. None of these can be satisfactory. 

Possibly the best way of securing good water for 
the rural school is to have an adequate cistern, 
which should be cleaned just before school opens, 
all the water being taken out and the walls thorough- 
ly cleaned, and then a supply of pure water hauled 
and put into it. This will furnish a good supply dur- 
ing the school term, as using water out of a cistern 
will aerate it sufficiently to keep it in good condi- 
tion. The situation in villages and small-town 
schools is somewhat better than in country schools, 
but the problem is by no means solved in them. 

Each schoolroom in the country should be equipped 
with a sanitary drinking fountain, and in a consoli- 
dated or village school there should be at least one 
drinking fountain for each two or three rooms. 
The old-fashioned water-pail and drinking cup are 
so thoroughly dangerous and out of date that they 
ought to be prohibited by legislative enactment, 
not only in the schools, but in all public places. Re- 
cent discussion and agitation on this subject has 



GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS 55 

made this fact so obvious that the author does not 
care to speak of it further. However, it should be 
noted that in many states the pubhc drinking cup 
has been abohshed on trains, in hotels and other 
public places. Many of the rural and other schools 
still use the common cup. We are wilhng to insist 
that a pubhc corporation shall do more to protect 
society than shall an educational agency, such as 
the school! 

Decoration. — Every schoolroom should have some 
simple decoration. In the first place the wahs 
should present an attractive appearance. There is 
much discussion about the color of the walls for 
schoolrooms. The consensus of opinion seems to be, 
however, that a light grayish buff is best for all 
purposes. All schoolroom decoration should be in 
harmony with the walls. The pictures or mottoes 
selected should be simple, but should have aesthetic 
value. The room should not be decorated with 
gaudy, unmeaning pictures; only suitable copies 
of masterpieces should be bought. It is better to 
buy one or two^ good pictures a year than to get 
many cheap ones. Care should be taken to select 
those masterpieces which have direct values for 
children, rather than adults. 

Charts and Similar Equipments. — It is desirable to 
have a good chart for teaching reading, and, if pos- 
sible, the school ought to be equipped with some 
charts for the teaching of hygiene and physiology. 
An up-to-date school will need at least one sand- 
table and a set of laboratory apparatus for teaching 
arithmetic. 

The Library. — No rural school can be thoroughly 
efficient without a library-room and a good working 
supply of books. If possible, the room ought to 



56 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

be well lighted and so constructed as to be shut off 
entirely from the schoolroom proper. The library 
should contain one or two small dictionaries and some 
books on history, travel, adventure, etc. It is not 
wise to spend money on a fine dictionary or ency- 
clopedia until the library is well supplied with the 
other books mentioned above. The first hundred 
dollars spent for a library should not include an 
unabridged dictionary or a large encyclopedia; 
small ones will do. 

Vacuum Cleaners. — A thoroughly up-to-date equip- 
ment will include a vacuum cleaner. In the long run 
this is economy for everybody concerned. 

Conclusion. — It is evident that all the foregoing 
suggestions cannot be carried out in a one-room 
rural school, because, according to present-day 
thinking, it is an economic absurdity to make such 
an outlay for fifteen or twenty children. The mini- 
mum expenditure for the building and equipment sug- 
gested would probably be one thousand or twelve 
hundred dollars, whereas two thousand or twenty- 
five hundred dollars would provide a much better 
equipment, which might be used by a hundred 
children or more. This calls our attention again 
to the fact that under modern conditions the dis- 
trict unit is a very unsatisfactory one. 

In the appendix will be found a number of model 
school plans, with descriptions, as well as ''Minimum 
Sanitary Requirements for Rural Schools," proposed 
by the Joint Committees on Health Problems in 
Education of the National Council of Education; ^ the 
National Education Association; and the American 
Medical Association. 



GROUNDS AND BUILDINGS 57 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Plan an ideal playground for a one-room rural school. 

2. Discuss the value of a school garden. 

3. How can the school help the improvement of home 
gardening without having a school garden? 

4. Describe a good floor plan for a one-room rural school 
and give the value for each feature of the plan. 

5. Show the value of the proper lighting of schoolrooms. 

6. What should be the maximum seating capacity of a 
room 32 ft. by 28 ft. and 123/^ ft. high, and how much 
fresh air should come into this room every minute? 

7. How would you provide for ventilating a poorly 
arranged schoolroom? 

8. Discuss the value of proper humidity for school- 
rooms. What precautions should the teacher take 
where sufficient moisture is not provided? 

9. Discuss the value of good blackboards, sanitary 
crayons, and dustless erasers for schoolroom pur- 
poses. 

10. Discuss the relative merits of the various systems of 
heating and ventilation. 

11. Describe in detail an ideal school desk. 

12. Name ten suitable school pictures for schoolroom 
decoration and give reasons for your choice. 

13. Make a list of one hundred library books for a one- 
room school or for any grade m the elementary school. 

14. Make a list of laboratory apparatus necessary for 
teaching elementary arithmetic. 

15. How much would it cost to get the necessary appa- 
ratus to teach manual training in a one-room rural 
school? How much to teach household arts? 

16. What is the necessary apparatus to teach elementary 
agriculture and what would it cost? 



58 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

17. Measure the window space of three schoolrooms to 
determine how nearly they meet the demands for 
adequate lighting. 

READINGS. 

Barry: The Hygiene of the Schoolroom, Chap. I.-VI. 
Burrage and Bailey: School Sanitation and Decoration, 

Chap. I.-VII. 
Dresslar: Rural School House and Grounds. — U. S. Bureau 

of Education, Bulletin 1914, No. 12. 
Dresslar: School Hygiene, Chap. I.-XIV. 
Shaw: School Hygiene, Chap. I.-VII. 



CHAPTER VII. 

THE TEACHER. 

A Social Administrator.— It must always be kept in 
mind that the teacher is the manager of a social 
enterprise, for the school is society's organization to 
conserve existing culture and to provide for social 
progress. 

Both the teacher and society only vaguely ap- 
preciate this important function of the teacher. 
We are much more aware of the importance and value 
of managerial capacity in industrial, political, or re- 
ligious life than we are in school life. Possibly this 
lack of appreciation of the problem grows out of the 
fact that the parents are responsible for the support 
and care of children. At the same time, the teacher 
has delegated to her, in a large measure, the import- 
ant function of making the child ready for its 
necessary social relationships. 

Good Health Necessary.— As part of the initial capi- 
tal required for the success of the young man or 
woman who undertakes to become an effective teach- 
er, it is necessary that he or she should have a thor- 
oughly sound physical constitution. Teaching is 
hard work, notwithstanding that the impression 
prevails in some quarters that such is not the case. 
Moreover, a rural teacher is exposed to all the in- 
clemency of the weather in going to and from school. 
Unfortunately, many rural school teachers have to 
act as janitors, to build their own fires and even to 
clean the schoolhouse. The indoor life itself, with 



60 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

its poor ventilation, makes a heavy tax upon a good 
constitution. 

Most of all, teaching is a nerve-racking occupa- 
tion, because the ^' rules of the game" are so crudely 
drawn. There is no standard which the teacher or 
the community may use to measure the efficiency of 
the school. This uncertainty consumes a tremendous 
amount of nerve force. Some day soon the state 
will be wise enough to insist upon a health certificate 
before students are allowed to enter the work of 
teaching; indeed, the certificate should be obtained 
before the individual is allowed to enter teachers' 
training classes in high schools or enroll in normal 
schools or teachers' colleges. 

Personality. — In the older pedagogical discussions 
very much importance was attached to the teacher's 
personality. More recently, some attempts have 
been made to minimize this consideration. However, 
the greatest single factor in the ultimate efficiency 
or failure of the school is that intangible something 
we call ^^personality." Doubtless every reader of 
this chapter can readily recall two people of equal 
academic and professional training who have se- 
cured schools under practically the same conditions; 
one of them, from the very outset, was in a large 
measure successful, while the other failed from the 
first. 

Theoretically, these two beginners were very much 
alike, but so far as the actual performance of the task 
was concerned, they represented quite different ca- 
pacities. This difference, we say, was due to per- 
sonality. What is it? Any student of education or 
supervisor of teachers has had occasion to ask this 
question many times. Its answer is exceedingly 
difficult, because personality is a wonderfully com- 



THE TEACHER 61 

plex something. Some attempts have been made to 
analyze it, but all of these attempts are more or 
less unsatisfactory. Yet, inasmuch as it is such an 
important matter, it seems desirable to offer some 
discussion of those traits of character which go 
to make up an attractive or magnetic personality. 
Bagley publishes an account of the study of the 
problem in a recent book. School Discipline.^ In 
this study opinions were secured from one hundred 
successful school superintendents and principals, 
listing the ten ^^ specific qualities'' to make up a good 
teaching personality. The ten qualities which found 
a place on the largest number of lists were then listed. 
As a result of this investigation the following traits 
were listed: 1. Sympathy. 2. Personal Appearance. 
3. Address. 4. Sincerity. 5. Optimism. 6. Enthu- 
siasm. 7. Scholarship. 8. Vitality. 9. Fairness. 
10. Reserve or Dignity. In some sense these qual- 
ities may be said to represent a sort of composite 
judgment of the one hundred superintendents or 
principals as to what should make up the ideal teach- 
ing personality. Of course, we readily understand 
this does not represent any very scientific judg- 
ment, but rather a sort of ^^ general impression." 
One hundred forty superintendents and principals 
were asked to make a list of their six best teachers, 
ranking them first on ^^ general teaching personality," 
in order, and then according to the ten specific qual- 
ities enumerated above. The very interesting result 
of the second ranking was the complete rearrange- 
ment of the traits which are important factors in 
making the teaching personality. The rearrange- 
ment is as follows: 1. Address. 2. Personal Ap- 

^ Bagley: School Discipline, pp. 30-49. 



62 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

pearance. 3. Optimism. 4. Reserve. 5. Enthu- 
siasm. 6. Fairness. 7. Sincerity. 8. Sympathy. 
9. Vitahty. 10. Scholarship. It is not our purpose 
to determine whether this Hst is adequate or final. 
It is presented here only because of the method of 
its selection. In these days of scientific measure- 
ment it is possible to lose sight of the fact that there 
are some qualities necessary to make up the ideal 
teacher which do not readily submit themselves to 
any form of mathematical description. Some brief 
discussion, however, may not be out of place con- 
cerning the meaning of some of these and other 
qualities which ordinarily inhere in persons of suc- 
cessful teaching ability. 

Personal Appearance. — Recently the author received 
a letter from a prominent superintendent, asking him 
to make a recommendation for an important position 
in his schools. After enumerating the qualifications, 
he made the significant remark, ^'We do not object 
to good looks.'' We doubt if many superintendents 
are quite so frank as this one was; at the same time, 
those of us who have had experience in selecting and 
placing teachers know very well that a pleasing 
appearance is an important factor in securing a po- 
sition. Of course ''good looks" alone will not hold 
any position. They are largely a kind of ''initial 
prejudice," which works in favor of the applicant 
from the outset, but must be backed up by superior 
moral qualities to be of enduring value. Nature has 
not been uniformly generous in giving to all of us an 
attractive physique, but, fortunately, care, dress, and 
manners go a long way toward making any human 
being interesting and useful. We soon forget mere 
beauty of face or form in persons of gentle manners 
and noble spirit. 



THE TEACHER 63 

Sincerity. — First of all, we need to have sincerity 
concerning the work of teaching. Society, as well as 
parents, has a right to demand this of us and, for 
our own moral welfare, we ought to demand it of 
ourselves; because no worker can obtain any large 
measure of skill or happiness in his work unless he 
believes profoundly in the worth-whileness of that 
work. The children have a right to sincerity in us, 
because childhood is pre-eminently the period in 
which truth and reality for their own sakes are so 
much desired. This is a professional matter, also, 
because there can never come about any real pro- 
fessional spirit and consciousness until members of 
the craft enter it and pursue it with earnestness and 
sincerity — with passion. 

Professor George Herbert Palmer, in a recent 
address on ^'What is a Profession?'' ^ said: '^Strictly 
speaking, I think it would be true to say that every 
sound teacher enters his work for the fun of the 
thing. I began teaching because, on the whole, I 
liked it better than anything else. Sometimes it 
seems to me that I should hardly care to go on with 
it if I were not a teacher. I look down from my 
height as a teacher on all the other little struggling 
mortals that have their inferior things to do; I do 
not think much of them. The fact is that Harvard 
college is paying me to do the work that I would 
gladly pay them to allow me to do. I hold that a 
man should go into a profession because that is what 
he wants. The teacher wants to teach; the painter 
wants to paint; the scientific man wants to know.'' 
Doubtless some readers will call this an exaggerated 
form of idealism, but the fact remains that this is 

^Journal of Education — Dec. 3, 1914. 



64 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the sort of "stuff" which makes real teachers. Any- 
thing less than this attitude tends toward insincerity 
and stupidity. 

• Optimism. — Some such motto as this should be 
written over the door of every schoolroom in the 
world and in the heart of every would-be teacher: 
"No Pessimism shall ever enter here." This senti- 
ment is absolutely requisite for a teacher's person- 
ality, because childhood is the time of hopeful, buoy- 
ant expectancy, and no depressing doubts, fears, or 
disappointments should be thrust into the lives of 
small children. An attempt should be made to reduce 
such experiences to the minimum. Another thing, — 
optimism is necessary to keep us "believing in and 
hoping in" the sacredness of all child life. We should 
not urge a sort of optimism which allows the teacher 
and the children to have a "go-as-you-please" atti- 
tude toward the important things of life, but rather 
that sort of optimism which believes in childhood as 
it is guided through intelligent discipline and in- 
struction. 

Altruism. — No teacher can be a -marked success 
who does not have a keen appreciation of the values 
involved in striving for the common good; an intel- 
ligent sympathy for children, parenthood, and the 
social welfare. All these are fundamental for a com- 
manding teaching personality. There can be no 
doubt that this is one of the serious problems to be 
solved in connection with the rural school. The 
present-day rural school teacher is commonly a boy 
or girl not twenty-one years of age, who, in the very 
nature of the case, cannot possibly have any very 
profound altruism. The old-time rural school was 
superior to the present-day one in this respect, for it 
was administered by a mature man, though he may 



THE TEACHER 65 

not have been superior to the present-day teacher in 
academic knowledge or educational theory. This 
altruism must be deep enough and wide enough to 
include in it all the children and all the people of the 
community, for their own sakes and for society's 
ultimate welfare— not a mere ^^maudUn" sort of 
sentimentaUty, but an intelligent and purposeful 
sort of altruism which seeks the highest good possible 
for the whole community life. 

Enthusiasm.— The teacher needs enthusiasm for the 
ordinary classroom exercises, and she needs to keep 
the enthusiasm of youth, so that she may be able to 
enter into the spirit of the children's activities, their 
plays, games, holidays, heroisms, contests, clubs, etc. 
Fairness.— The Americans are said to love fair play 
or a "square deal," and it is certain that no teacher 
can succeed ultimately who cannot manage the 
activities of the school in such a way as to secure 
fair play and justice for all of its members. The dis- 
ciphne, the recitation, the examination, the fellow- 
ships, the school plays, giving of assistance— all 
present problems where the teacher must have tact 
and judgment enough to see that equal justice is 
afforded to all the members of the group. 

Reserve.— Inasmuch as the teacher is continually 
under observation by the school and the community, 
there is danger that she may become commonplace. 
In order to avoid this, there should be a little dignity 
or reserve behind which the school or the community 
does not feel the liberty to intrude; not a mere atti- 
tude of superiority or prudishness, but a sense of 
self-respect which enables her to hold aloof from the 
pettinesses of school life and community life. 

Scholarship.— A teacher cannot hope to command 
the respect and admiration of the school or commu- 



66 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

nity without adequate scholarship, because, primarily, 
the function of the teacher is that of giving instruc- 
tion. The ideal teacher, therefore, must have 
enough knowledge to meet the school arid community 
demands thoroughly. The details of the teacher's 
preparation will be presented in other paragraphs. 

The Voice. — A well-trained voice is almost an ab- 
solute prerequisite for effective teaching. Although 
it is one of the most readily acquired characteristics 
necessary for success in the schoolroom, yet it is 
commonly neglected in the training of teachers and 
by those who employ them. It is important because 
it may be used with great effectiveness in discipline 
when it is properly managed. It has much to do 
with successful classroom technique and adds very 
much to the pleasure of school life. 

Ideals. — Finally, there can be no truly beauti- 
ful personality without fine ideals. These ideals 
must come from a knowledge of the world's history 
and literature. They must grow out of the experi- 
ences within the work, and they must come from a 
recognition of the social values involved in the busi- 
ness of teaching. We must recognize the fact that 
the work is not fully and thoroughly appreciated by 
the children whom we teach nor by the community 
which we serve; yet the service must be rendered 
intelligently and earnestly to insure the perpetuity 
and progress of society. 

This brief discussion of the special qualities and 
characteristics of the teacher is submitted, not with 
the expectancy that the beginner will find that he 
has them in a large measure, but with the hope that 
these important factors of personality may be ac- 
quired and elaborated, through years of earnest 
endeavor. 



THE TEACHER 67 

The Teacher's Preparation and Obligations. 

We have discussed, in some detail, the personal 
traits and characteristics which should be cultivated 
to make a successful teacher. We now propose to 
treat in some detail the academic, professional, and 
legal requirements for a good elementary teacher and, 
at the same time, to point out some of the teacher's 
important obligations. 

Academic Education. — The town or city teacher in 
elementary schools is commonly a graduate of a 
good high school and has spent one or two years in 
a normal school or city training school. In addition 
to this, some successful apprentice work in the city 
or successful teaching in rural schools or other towns 
is usually demanded before a permanent appoint- 
ment is made in a city system. 

Concerning the rural teacher, no such general 
statement can be made. More than one-half of the 
two hundred twelve thousand rural school teachers 
in this country are not graduates of any kind of high 
school; they have come up through the elementary 
schools, have prepared for county examinations in 
various ways, secured a county certificate, and are 
now teaching some rural school. Nearly one-half of 
these are teaching on the lowest grade of county 
certificate, which demands little more than a knowl- 
edge of the rudiments of the common school branches. 
We cast no reflection on those teachers who are 
trying to do the important work of rural school 
teaching, but we must urge that rural life needs the 
guidance of a much wiser teacher than such a scant 
preparation naturally implies. 

Three-fourths of the states are still handicapped 
by some form of the district system, which presents 



68 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

many economic and social difficulties. The rural 
school can never be the agency it should be in rural 
life until it has undergone reorganization. In thou- 
sands of districts in every state the assessed valua- 
tion is not great enough to provide support for a 
good school. Moreover, the outlook and competition 
of a single district are too narrow to make a problem 
worth while for a well- trained teacher or leader. Not- 
withstanding all this, we must send to the country a 
new type of rural teacher, because the district sys- 
tem cannot be abrogated in many states for a long 
time. This new teacher must know much more 
than the traditional common-school subjects. She 
must know rural school problems and rural school 
sociology. She must know agriculture, from both 
a practical and a scientific point of view. She must 
know about personal and public hygiene and com- 
munity sanitation. She must know the value of 
organizing community life into groups, for children 
and grown people. Rural life needs organization 
and leadership, and this can best be furnished by 
the teacher. 

Professional Training. — It does not seem worth while 
to recount the arguments for the professional train- 
ing of teachers. They are numerous and conclusive. 
It must be confessed, however, that at times both 
teachers and school boards seem to forget them. 
We recognize the value of skill and technique in 
every other line of activity, and society is willing to 
pay for them in other professions. Moreover, every 
state in the Union is committed to the policy of 
supplying teachers at public expense. Some of the 
agencies which the state has provided for giving this 
skill are teachers' colleges in connection with uni- 
versities and normal schools; teachers' training 



THE TEACHER 69 

classes in high schools (about twenty states have such 
a provision now) ; and teachers' institutes and special 
summer schools. In addition to these there are many- 
voluntary organizations, such as reading circles, 
extension courses, etc. 

This professional training should include some 
knowledge of elementary psychology with its ap- 
plication to the principles of teaching, a knowledge 
of elementary school administration, and some care- 
ful study of methods relating to the presentation 
of common-school subjects connected with observa- 
tion classes in normal schools and city systems. It 
is also desirable that the observation be extended to 
the study of actual school conditions in the country 
or town. It is highly important that the teacher, 
by this preliminary training, gets the right attitude 
toward growth, becomes a lover of truth, and de- 
velops a keen desire to improve. One thing more: 
In some way it should be ascertained whether or 
not the student has actual ability and aptitude in 
the instruction of children. 

Legal Qualifications. — It is a uniform requirement 
that teachers in elementary schools shall have some 
sort of license or certificate before they may enter 
upon the work. Among the various states there is no 
uniform system for issuing these licenses. County 
superintendents or county boards of education may 
grant licenses. A city superintendent or committee 
commissioned for this purpose may issue them. 
Graduates of teachers' training courses in high schools 
are commonly granted a certificate by the state 
superintendent of schools. In many states normal 
schools have the power to license teachers for rural 
schools, and for elementary schools in towns and 
cities. For high schools they also issue many forms 



70 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

of special certificates. The state department of 
education or the state board of education may ex- 
amine candidates and grant certificates. The school 
of education in connection with the state university- 
may license teachers. Colleges with departments 
of education may have their graduates certified by 
the state superintendent or state board of education. 

This enumeration is quite enough to show that 
the whole certificate situation is in a very chaotic 
condition and needs to be remedied. Of course, the 
chief difficulty comes from the fact that all the 
training agencies mentioned fail to supply enough 
well-trained teachers, and it is doubtful if any well- 
ordered system will be evolved until the supply of 
trained teachers is somewhat nearer the schools^ 
demand. When we study the elaborate scheme for 
the training of teachers in Germany or France and 
compare it with ours, we must keep in mind that the 
supply of teachers in these countries is up to the 
actual demands of the schools, therefore much care 
can be taken before new teachers are appointed to 
permanent positions, and we need to recognize the 
other fact that securing a position in France or Ger- 
many means a permanent appointment. 

Duties and Obligations to School Boards. — In a well- 
ordered city system the elementary school teacher 
has a most formal relationship with the board of 
education; but the case is different with the teacher 
of the rural school. It is her duty to keep the school 
board fully informed concerning the immediate and 
prospective needs of the school. The board is the 
representative of the people and the teacher should 
make use of it as such. A wise teacher should make 
her school board feel that the school represents their 
working co-partnership. 



THE TEACHER 71 

Duties to Parents —The teacher should remember 
that she is co-operating with the parents m the 
education of the children. Primarily, it is the func- 
tion of the parent to educate the child. Our complex 
society has turned over this important task to the 
school and the teacher, but the school and the 
teacher can never do the work efficiently without 
the sympathetic interest of the parent. To be sure, 
it is not possible to go into all the details of instruc- 
tion with the average parent, but the parent should 
have such information about the school as will 
enable him to follow its work with a large measure of 
interest and intelligence. ^ 

Duties to Pupils.— Primarily, the function of the 
teacher is that of helping children to learn the im- 
portant cultures which the race has wrought out, es- 
pecially such parts of these cultures as have signifi- 
cance at the present time. It is highly important 
that the teacher help the children to form such 
habits as will be usable throughout life, for if the 
school is to do anything toward training for efficiency 
in citizenship, it. must furnish both the ideals and 
the habits which are important for life in a democ- 
racy. The teacher must conserve the health of the 
children, and know that a measure of sympathy and 
friendship is due each child,— the personal touch 
necessary for the formation of character. 

Duties to the Community.— The teacher should not 
undertake to do all the community's social work, 
but she should be a helpful factor in this work. The 
town boy or girl who goes out on Monday morning 
to teach a country school and back to town for each 
week-end will never be a considerable factor in build- 
ing up community life. We owe our lives to the 
community. In most communities the grown people 



72 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

need to go to school as much as the children, and the 
teacher should be a leader in securing these advan- 
tages for the adult population. The precise way in 
which this school should be carried on for adults is 
largely a community matter, but the necessity for it 
exists in every rural community and commonly in 
every ward-school district in a town or city. 

Duties to Self and the Profession. — We owe it to our- 
selves to make progress, in both knowledge and skill. 
We owe it to ourselves to take rest and secure such 
recreation as is necessary for good health and 
efficiency. We owe it to our fellows to learn to co- 
operate with them, in orderly ways, to secure a 
higher degree of professional efficiency. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Give arguments for and against requiring health 
certificates for all teachers and student prospective 
teachers. 

2. How should the "teaching personality" differ for 
various grades and kinds of school work? 

3. Study your favorite teacher in the light of the ten 
points on personality in this chapter and arrange her 
characteristics in the order of their importance. Do 
the same for the teacher you like least. What con- 
clusions may you draw? 

4. Make a list of teachers of an attractive personality 
who have failed and state why they have failed. 

5. Make a list of teachers not having an attractive per- 
sonality who have succeeded and state why they 
have succeeded. 

6. How prevent the teaching profession being used as a 
stepping-stone to some other profession? 



THE TEACHER 73 

7. Why does the teacher especially need to be optimistic 
in her general attitude toward all problems of life? 

8. What should be the teacher's attitude toward pupils 
of poor home training or poor environment? 

9. Why is it impossible for a very young teacher to lead 
in modern community-life movements? 

10. To what extent should the teacher participate in the 
plays and games of the school? Give reasons for 
your answer. 

11. Were you ever the victim of the bad judgment of a 
teacher? How did this afifect your attitude toward 
the teacher and your school work? 

12. Did you ever think that you were mistreated at 
school and afterwards find that you were wrong? 

13. Can the primarj^ teacher be a brilliant success who 
has poor general scholarship? Cite instances. 

14. What academic preparation should one have before 
beginning to teach a rural school? A city school? 
What special preparation should she have? 

15. Can a teachers' college provide adequate training for 
teachers in rural schools? What are the advantages 
and disadvantages in the situation? Can it provide 
such training for teachers in city and town systems? 

16. Consider the above points with reference to normal 
schools; city training schools for teachers; and 
teacher- training courses in high schools. 

17. Might these conditions be remedied for rural teachers 
if we had high schools in the country? 

18. Tell the different ways that certificates may be 
obtained in your state. Note the number of certifi- 
cating agencies and the number and kinds of certifi- 
cates issued by each. 

19. What are the values of a written test in determining 



74 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

whether or not a certificate should be issued? The 
oral test? 

20. Should certificates be so standardized that they are 
transferable among states? How might this be done? 

21. What should be the basis of permanent appointment 
of teachers? 

22. How may a teachers secure the active co-operation 
of her board? 

23. State some important work which can be done by the 
board and tell how to get it done. 

24. State the ways in which the parents may co-operate 
with the school. How may the teacher secure this 
co-operation? 

25. What are the values to the teacher, children, and 
parents in having parents visit the school? 

26. What would be the advantages in having the teacher 
live in the community all the year round? Would 
it be feasible to provide permanent quarters for the 
teacher by the community? Give good reasons. 

READINGS. 

Betts and Hall: Better Rural Schools, Part III. 
Colgrove: The Teacher and the School, Chap. II.-V. 
Chancellor: Our Schools, Chap. XI. and XIII. 
Carney: Country Life and Country Schools, Chap. XI. 
Cubberley : The Certification of Teachers. 
Hollister: The Administration of Education in a DemoC' 

racy. Chap. XYlll. 
Milner: The Teacher. 



CHAPTER VIII. 

SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE. 

In order to succeed it is imperative that the 
beginning teacher, or even an experienced teacher, 
should have worked out, with some considerable de- 
tail, a method for the management of the more 
important activities which are to go on in the school- 
room and in connection with necessary experiences 
which may take place, growing out of the classroom 
situation. 

Preparation for the First Day. — There are several ex- 
ceedingly important preliminary matters which 
should be attended to before the school opens. 
Among these are the following: 

1. The teacher should visit the building and school 
grounds, to make sure that everything is in readiness 
for her work. This precaution is advisable whether 
the teaching is to be done in a one-room rural school 
or in some room in a city system. Familiarity with 
the working surroundings will contribute to a feeling 
of confidence and mastery. 

2. The teacher should learn something of the 
community, if possible, so that ,she may fit in at 
once to the fundamental community activities and 
ideals. 

3. The teacher should secure the course of study 
required for the school if it is a one-room school, and 
for the grade or grades if she is to teach one or more 
grades in some graded school. She should familiarize 
herself most thoroughly with the more important 



76 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

features of the work to be required for the year. If 
she is to teach in a one-room school, by all means a 
most careful study should be made of the require- 
ments for the particular year, so that she will under- 
take the classification of her pupils with confidence. 

4. The teacher should secure the register left by 
the preceding teacher and familiarize herself with the 
previous classification of the children who are to at- 
tend the school. Usually this record may be secured 
from the district clerk in rural schools, and in the 
graded village and city schools the records are com- 
monly kept by the principal or superintendent, and 
are supplied at the teachers' meeting held prior to 
the opening of the school. ' 

5. The preliminary program for the day's work 
should be put on the board sometime before the first 
day of school, so that everybody may see that they 
are ready for work. 

6. The teacher should have most definitely in 
mind plans for the first day's activities, including 
assignments, recitations, intermissions, playground 
activities, etc. 

7. If possible, the teacher should secure a satis- 
factory boarding-place before the opening of the 
school. Sometimes in the country this is no easy 
matter, and it has much to do with the success of 
the teacher. She should have a good comfortable 
room in which she can work and rest, and it should 
be near enough to the school to present no serious 
inconvenience in bad weather. In some communi- 
ties no suitable home may be near enough to the 
school to serve as a satisfactory boarding-place for 
the teacher, and it is quite possible that many 
homes situated near enough to the school do not 
care to board the teacher, because of the trouble it 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE ^^ 

makes. However, it is imperative for successful 
Soo work tliat the teacher have a good home in 
which she can be comfortable and contented The 
United States Commissioner of Education, Claxton, 
is advocating the construction of teachers' perma- 
nent homes in rural communities, as the only final 
solution of this and certain other rural school diffi- 



culties. 



'The First Day of School.-The first day of school 

presents a most important and '^-^'^-f^fJ^^fZ 
for the new teacher. However much planmng has 
been done for the day there will surely arise some 
ve y interesting and unexpected developments It is 
the day in which the teacher is being "si^fd up by 
Z children and she is trying to "size up" the chl- 
dren It is all-important that the teacher should 
go about the work with an attitude of mastery and 
Confidence. To hesitate, doubt, or question usually 

means failure. , . 

The teacher should get to school very early, in 
fact before any of the children arrive, and be ready 
to gree them'^with pleasure and earnestness. In 
general it is not advisable to make any extended 
fpeeches about the school or its work._ It is much 
better, on the whole, to put into execution the plans 
which have been carefully laid out for that days 

"""u 'the teacher can do it, she should plan an in- 
teresting opening exercise for the f^* ^ay « she 
knows something about music and can read effe° 
tively she should utilize these accomphshments m 
the first day's opening exercise. The smgmg of one 
or two appropriate songs will go far towards settmg 
thiSs at ease and unifying the spirit of the «chooL 
The teacher should not forget to start the work 



78 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

with enthusiasm and earnestness, even if she is 
homesick unto death and it is her very first under- 
taking of a difficult task. She must summon all 
her courage and go about the task as if it were the 
finest piece of work ever committed to her keeping. 
She must not act like a galley-slave set to a task. 
She will fail if she does. She should remember that 
the school belongs to the community and the chil- 
dren and not to the teacher. She should begin at 
once to make it an object of interest and pride, and 
keep on throughout the year, striving to increase 
the interest in it as the community's most important 
institution. 

Daily Program. — A good daily program, which pro- 
vides for the periods of both recitation and study, 
is very necessary for effective school administration. 

Values of a Good Program. — A good program leads 
to regularity of habits in the matter of study and thus 
saves time for both the teacher and the pupil. A 
systematic schedule or program enables the work to 
be done with a minimum amount of immediate 
thought on the part of the teacher and removes 
needless friction and waste. 

ImportantFactorsinConstructingaProgram. — Among 
the more important factors to be considered in the 
construction of a daily program are the following: 
Length of the school year, length of the school day, 
the time which may be given to recitations and in- 
termissions, the required subjects for the year, the 
laws of fatigue, the special exercises of the school, 
and the number of pupils enrolled. 

The individual teacher in a thoroughly organized 
county school system or city school system may not 
have very much to do with the making of her daily 
program. In schools where the county organization 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 79 

is effective the program is usually furnished by the 
county superintendent or the state superintendent, 
depending on the source from which tlie course of 
study is obtained; — at least, this is the prevaihng 
practice in many states. 

If the county superintendent or state superintend- 
ent has a scheme in alternation or correlation, it 
is absolutely necessary for the teacher to make a 
program in keeping with these requirements. In a 
city system rough drafts of the daily program of the 
elementary school work are generally sent from the 
city superintendent's office to the principal, and he, 
in consultation with the room teacher, makes the 
final program for the grade. Notwithstanding these 
facts, it is well to state in some detail the more im- 
portant principles which ought to be considered in 
making up a good program. 

The relative importance of the various subjects 
which go to make up the curriculum is a matter 
which should be given consideration. The order of 
recitations should be made on the basis of the 
importance of the various subjects, taking into ac- 
count the difficulty of these subjects with their 
relation to fatigue and play. 

To be sure, we do not know so very much about 
the relation of subject matter to fatigue; however, 
we do know that after a brief period of ^'warming-up '' 
early in the morning the children do much better 
work than when they have been working a long time. 
We know also that subjects which require a certain 
amount of manual dexterity, such as writing, draw- 
ing, and manual training, should not be undertaken 
immediately after children have been playing very 
hard. Some experiments in fatigue tend to show 
that about 11 o'clock in the morning is the best 



80 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



working period of the day. Whether we use a sub- 
ject as a drill subject or a content subject, or an inci- 
dental or by-product subject, should be considered 
when we undertake to make a good program. The 
total number of recitations taken by the teacher and 
the children should receive attention. 

In general, rural school teachers have too many 
subjects and, as a result, the time for each recitation 
is too short for effective teaching. A short time ago 
the author saw a rural school program on which 
there were listed thirty-two recitation periods per 
day. Of course this was a farce. If possible, the 
number of recitations in a rural school should be 
brought down to twenty or fewer. 

There seems to be no standard way in which pro- 
grams are constructed, therefore it might be inter- 
esting and profitable if some of the more standard 
types were offered for study and criticism. The 
course of study for elementary schools in the state 
of Pennsylvania, prepared by the Department of 
Instruction for the year 1914, gives the following: 

The minimum number of minutes to be devoted each week to the different 
activitiea of the several grades in school. 



Years or Grades. 


1 


2 


3 


4 


5 


6 


7 


8 


Opening exercises 


75 
450 
75 
00 
75 
75 
00 
50 
50 
150 
75 
45 
75 
75 
240 


75 

420 
75 
75 
75 

100 
00 
50 
50 

150 
75 
45 
75 
75 

160 


75 

360 

75 

75 

100 

150 

00 

50 

50 

150 

75 

60 

75 

75 

130 


75 
300 
100 

75 
100 
150 
100 

"so 

150 
75 
60 
75 
75 

115 


75 
240 
100 
75 
75 
150 
100 

ioo 

150 
75 
60 
75 
75 

150 


75 
180 
150 
100 

75 
150 
100 

120 
150 

'^ 

75 

75 

160 


75 
150 
150 
100 

75 
150 
120 

120 
160 
75 
60 
50 
75 
150 


75 
150 
150 


Reading and literature 


Language 


Spelling 


100 
75 


Penmanship 


Arithmetic 


150 
120 


Geography 


Nature study 


History 


120 
150 
75 
60 
50 
75 
150 


Drawing and Constructive Work 
Physical education 


Physiology 


Recess 


Music 


Unassigned time . , 



The length of the school day according to the time allotment in this schedule is 
five hours; as the length of the day varies in the several grades of different school 
systems, the amount of unassigned time will vary, allowing less for a shorter day 
and more for a longer one. . 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 81 

It will be observed that this program provides 
only a statement of the number of minutes to be 
devoted each week to the different activities in the 
several grades of the school. Undoubtedly this is 
only a general direction, from which a specific pro- 
gram would have to be made. 

The ''Course of Study and Manual of Methods" 
for the elementary schools of Iowa, issued by the 
Department of Public Instruction in 1913, offers the 
program for rural schools given on pages 82 and 83. 

This program provides in detail for all of the work 
of the school, including recitations, studies, and occu- 
pations as well. The organization of the school is 
made in five divisions, — the E Division including 
first-year students, the D Division including the sec- 
ond-year students, the C Division including the third- 
and fourth-year students, the B Division including 
the fifth- and sixth-year students, and the A Divi- 
sion including the seventh- and eighth-year students. 

It will be noted that this program shows a sched- 
ule for twenty-eight daily recitations, undoubtedly 
too many for the best work if all recitations are given 
each day. However, the course of study suggests 
some combinations of classes to reduce the number 
and also some alternation of subjects in such a way 
as to have them come only two or three times per 
week. For example, it is advised that writing and 
drawing may be alternated, three lessons a week 
being given to writing and two to drawing. 

One of the other very interesting features of the 
Iowa course for the year 1913 is an outline of the 
six groups of subjects, arranged by grades. The 
outline is of enough interest to reproduce here (p. 84), 
and, in connection with it, we reproduce a table 
showing the time factor in relation to these groups. 



82 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 





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84 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



II 


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Physiology 

and 
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85 



The following division of time among the six 
groups of studies is suggested: 



Groups of Studies 


Per Cent of Time 
for Each Group 


Number of Minutes 
for Each Group 


1. Language 


40 per cent 


130 minutes 


2. Science 


12 per cent 


40 minutes 


3. Mathematics 


15 per cent 


50 minutes 


4. History 


10 per cent 


35 minutes 


5. Art 


8 per cent 


25 minutes 


6. Vocational Subjects 


15 per cent 


50 minutes 



We include one more program (p. 86), taken from 
the ^^ State Course of Study for the Rural and Graded 
Schools in the State of Missouri," as pubhshed by 
the State Superintendent for the year 1915. 

It will be noted that this suggested program pro- 
vides for both recitation periods and study periods. 
The course of study is outlined in such a way as to 
make provision for four classes or groups of children, 
—Class D for the first and second years. Class C for 
the third and fourth years, Class B for the fifth and 
sixth years, and Class A for the seventh and eighth 
years. The recitation program arranges for twenty- 
six recitations, too many if all are to be heard each 
day. However, Missouri has an alternating scheme 
which is also shown here. This enables a very con- 
siderable reduction in the number of recitations re- 
quired for each day. 

Alternation is the systematic and regular union 
of two grades of pupils, both grades doing the work 



86 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 









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SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 



87 



of one year in one class, while the other year's work 
omitted. The next year the work omitted is 



IS 



taken up and the first year's work dropped. In this 
way each pupil does all the work of the course, but 
not all in the same order, and the number of classes 
is greatly diminished, the recitation periods length- 
ened and more efficient work done. 



1909-10 19i0-ll 1911-12 1912-13 1913-14- 1914 -IS 19IS- IG 1916-17 1917-18 g 




Chart Showing Susiem. Of AH 



Undoubtedly we have yet much to learn in the 
making of programs for rural schools. For example, 
the schools of Iowa are organized on a five-group plan, 
while those of Missouri are on a four-group plan, 
and both daily programs show entirely too many 
recitations for effective instruction. No reformation, 
however, can be brought about in this particular 
until there is a critical and careful reorganization of 
the subject matter of the elementary curriculum for 
rural schools. Some discussion of this important 
problem is given in the chapter on ^'The New Cur- 
riculum." 

Rules for Government. — In the old-fashioned school 



88 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

large emphasis was put upon the '^framed" set of 
rules. It is no longer common to have this set of 
rules, with the specific punishments for the breaking 
of each one, and yet an examination of almost any 
recent manual will show a good long catalog of rules 
and duties for both teachers and pupils. Recently 
the author examined as many as twenty manuals, 
published by schools having a first-class high school. 
He was astonished to find the great amount of de- 
tail in rules and regulations for both the teacher and 
the pupils. A recent study of several rural schools 
revealed the fact that they, too, were administered 
under a very elaborate code of rules. 

In both cases it seems to the writer that the spirit 
is entirely too military and machine-like to provide 
for the necessary freedom and responsibility which 
ought to characterize public institutions which are 
trying to train citizens for a democracy. To be sure, 
we must recognize the fact that children are immature 
and do not know the positive values of life, even in a 
free country, as thoroughly as do adults. Neverthe- 
less, if the maximum amount of training for citizen- 
ship is to be secured, the rules themselves under 
which the school is administered must be of such a 
simple nature that the children will recognize the 
fairness and value of them. Some detailed discus- 
sion of these principles has been made in the chap- 
ters on ''Moral Training'^ and ''Discipline." It 
seems perfectly clear, however, that a few simple 
rules, which can be understood and appreciated 
readily by the children and the community, will 
furnish the best basis for a happy and efficient school 
life. 

Securing Regular Attendance. — It is important that 
the school should be managed in such a way as to 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 89 

insure regular attendance of the pupils. Sometimes 
this is difficult to do, because the work is uninter- 
esting and because the parents and the community 
do not recognize the great importance of regularity 
in attendance for the successful completion of the 
work. Many investigations show that irregular at- 
tendance is directly responsible for pupils' having 
to repeat the grade, for poor work, and for dropping 
out of school. Among the best solutions of the 
problem known are those of making the work as 
attractive and interesting as possible, securing the 
co-operation of parents, and the exercising of the 
teacher's personal interest in the direct welfare of 
each child. 

In extreme cases it may become necessary for 
the teacher to make use of the compulsory attendance 
law, if one has been enacted by the state. However, 
this should be the last resort, and it is not at all cer- 
tain how much value can come to children when 
they have been coerced into school under such 
conditions; indeed, not much value can come un- 
less such children can finally be interested in the 
work of the school. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Write a set of principbs for the management of the 
school. 

2. Discuss some absurd rules you have known or heard 
about. 

3. Criticise the daily programs submitted, basing your 
criticism on the discussion in this chapter. 

4. Make an ideal daily program for a one-room country 
school. 



90 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

5. What are the advantages and disadvantages of try- 
ing to make use of a course of study prepared by the 
State Superintendent? 

6. What are the common symptoms of fatigue? 

7. How often should the school have daily intermission 
for rest or play? 

8. Discuss the statement ''All rules for the school 
should be made considering the welfare of the indi- 
vidual and the group.'' 



READINGS. 

Bagley: Classroom Management, Part I. 
Colgrove: The Teacher and the School, Part II. 
Dutton: School Management. 
Seeley: A New School Management, Chap. II.-VL 



CHAPTER IX. 

SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE (Continued), 

The Recitation. — Undoubtedly, the recitation is the 
most important schoolroom exercise. Some simple 
form of machinery is necessary to economize time 
and secure orderUness in bringing the pupils to the 
recitation and sending them back to their seats 
again. The machinery should be as simple as pos- 
sible and take up the minimum amount of time. 
The days of the call-bell, the ''Ready — rise — pass.'' 
Or the ''One — two — three," in which we demanded 
that all pupils should respond with military precision, 
are gone never to return. We do not move that way 
out in life and the school should not try to set up any 
such formal method of action. If the spirit of the 
school is what it should be, all that will be necessary 
is to call the name of the class, allow a minute for 
books and other material to be put in order, and then 
the recitation proper should begin. 

Ideally, the children should keep their regular 
seats for the recitation period, and the old recitation 
bench, which has sometimes very properly been 
called the "mourners' bench," should be sent to the 
scrap-heap. It may be necessary with very small 
children to have some change in position, for effi- 
ciency, but, if the room is properly seated, the best 
place to recite is from the regular desk or chair. 

In regard to the conduct of the recitation, it is 
perfectly well understood nowadays that the na- 
ture of the class exercises should determine somewhat 



92 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the method of caUing on the pupils to participate in 
the class work. In any case the method should pro- 
vide for variety and interest, as any formal or serial 
scheme tends to destroy these. 

The Objects of the Recitation. — Primarily, the reci- 
tation presents a situation involving three important 
factors, — the teacher, the student who is to do the 
talking, and the other group of children who belong 
to his class. Undoubtedly, the most important 
function of the recitation is to be found in its adapta- 
tion to the end that the group of students, under the 
teacher's guidance, may obtain the largest amount 
of knowledge and experience during the period of its 
duration. 

Many detailed statements concerning the objects 
or aims of the recitation have been made by school- 
men. One of the most valuable is that classic one 
made by the late Commissioner William T. Harris. 
He says the aims of the recitation are : 

1. To draw out each pupil's view of the lesson and to test his 
grasp of the subject. 

2. To correct the pupil's wrong impressions and enlarge his 
horizon by comparing his views with those of the other members 
of the class. 

3. To arouse interest in the next lesson, to stimulate pupils 
to study it and direct their study. 

4. To cultivate the habit of close and continuous attention. 

5. To bring out the teacher's highest powers as an instructor 
and leader. 

6. To supplement what the pupil gives. 

7. To inspire self-activity, power of independent study, and 
keen insight. 

8. To teach pupils the great advantage of helpful co-operation 
with others. 

9. To help the pupil to overcome individual pecuharities. 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 93 

The Assignment. — The importance of the assign- 
ment as related to the recitation is so great that it 
calls for a brief separate discussion. 

It has been said that the three tests of any assign- 
ment are: 1st. Is it explicit? 2d. Is it discriminat- 
ing? 3d. Is it adapted to the student's time for 
preparation and his present ability and needs? 

There is no doubt that much time is wasted by 
children because of poor assignments. To state the 
material suggested by these questions in another 
way, it may be said that every assignment should be 
made with much definiteness and set some problem 
which will challenge the children to make its solu- 
tion. 

The assignment should be such as to clear up the 
difficulties which will cause pupils to waste time, 
but it should not do all of the work for the children. 
A good assignment will always connect the new 
problem with the previous knowledge of the pupil 
in this and other subjects. In the primary grades 
it is usually best to make the assignment at the close 
of the recitation, but with mature students it may 
be made at the beginning of the class work. 

Questioning.— Skill in questioning is a most im- 
portant teaching asset. Some of the more important 
characteristics of good questions should be noted. 
1. A good question always sets a problem for solu- 
tion. 2. Superior questions demand thinking on the 
part of the pupil. 3. Questions should be definite, 
so that the teacher, the pupil, and the class may know 
when an adequate answer has been made. 4. Ques- 
tions should not be asked in such a form as to in- 
dicate in any way the probable answer to them. 
Moreover, the teacher's attitude during the ques- 
tioning should be such as not to indicate anything 



94 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

concerning the correct answer; otherwise the child 
will soon learn to go on with the recitation only as he 
secures the approval of the teacher, with a favorable 
smile or nod. I have seen a grade in which all of the 
children were mere ^^question-marks/' because they 
could recite only when the teacher encouraged them 
by smiles, nods, and definite words of approval. 
5. After questioning, the teacher should not repeat 
the answers given by children. If the answer is 
unsatisfactory, she should let another member of the 
class clear it up, and, even if it should be repeated, 
it is much better to have it done by some other child 
than by the teacher. 6. Of course, all questions 
which may be answered by ''Yes" or ''No" should 
be avoided. 

Some examples of good questions are as follows : 

1. Give a brief account of the settlement of Jamestown. 

2. Describe the landing of the Pilgrims. 

3. Tell how to sow wheat. 

4. How do you make a kite? 

5. What important lessons may be learned from "The Village 
Blacksmith"? 

6. What are the values of the study of Manual Training? 

Correlation and Alternation. — As was indicated in 
some of the paragraphs concerning the daily pro- 
gram, alternation and correlation are almost abso- 
lutely necessary to the procedure of instruction in a 
one-room rural school. 

The North Dakota course of study for the common 
and graded schools expresses the purposes of 
correlation and alternation as follows: 1. To reduce 
the number of recitations daily, thus allowing longer 
recitation periods. 2. To increase the size of classes, 
thus increasing the interest of the recitation. 3. To 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 95 

bring together the work of related subjects and thus 
to unify and inter-relate the various parts of the 
pupil's knowledge. 

The Missouri daily program (quoted in another 
place) provides for alternation, by years, throughout 
the eight grades of the elementary rural school. A 
brief study of that program will indicate the way in 
which this is accomplished. 

The Kansas course of study for rural schools ex- 
plains alternation as ''the systematic and regular 
union of two grades of pupils of consecutive years' 
work, both doing the work of one year in^ one class 
while the other year's work is entirely omitted; the 
next year, the work omitted is taken up and the 
first year's work dropped." By this plan each pupil 
does all the work in the course, but not in the same 
order, while the number of classes is greatly dimin- 
ished. It often happens that the classes in country 
schools are small. If the class is very small, it is 
hard to maintain the proper degree of interest and 
to get work of the right character done. The plan 
of alternation increases the number of pupils in the 
class and makes the work more interesting to them. 

There are some objections urged, with great ear- 
nestness, and, at times, violence, against alterna- 
tion, because it puts pupils of quite different ages 
and degrees of capacity in the same class. In some 
communities this causes much discontent, primarily 
because of a lack of understanding of the values of 
the scheme. A very skilful teacher will be able to 
manage the class so that the younger pupils will be 
benefited rather than injured by this arrangement, 
and the older ones will acquire a helpful attitude 
towards the younger ones. 

Some plan of alternation is now being tried out in 



96 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

almost all of the states in the one-room rural schools. 
These plans are not perfect, or even satisfactory, 
but in many respects they are the best solution which 
has yet been proposed for a crowded daily program 
and a school with only a few children in it. 

The chief correlations to be made are: in the dif- 
ferent parts of the same subject; among different 
subjects in the curriculum; and between the school 
and the home. 

We should remember that life is a unified thing — • 
not made up of compartments or '^pigeon holes'' — 
and therefore our knowledge should be presented 
in such a way as to take this unity into account. 
Much waste is occasioned by lack of organization in a 
single subject, such as arithmetic or grammar, and 
still more waste is occasioned by a poor correlation 
among the various subjects of the elementary school. 

Promotion. — The school should be organized in such 
a way as to permit promotions as often as possible, 
as this provides for the best grouping of children for 
their work. However, the one-room rural school, 
with a few children, cannot make promotions more 
than once a year. A great many city systems may 
make promotions three or four times a year, and 
almost any village or town system may probably 
make promotions twice each year. 

Basis for Promotion. — In determining whether or not 
a pupil should be promoted to the next grade or 
section, we usually take into consideration his daily 
work in the recitation and the oral or written tests, 
given monthly or by terms. Sometimes one or the 
other of these is the sole basis for promotion, and 
since there is no consensus of opinion about the 
proper combination of the two, we find them em- 
ployed with all possible degrees of emphasis. It 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 97 

should be borne in mind that these are mere devices, 
having no inherent value, and that any one of them, 
or a combination of the two, should be used only for 
the purpose of trying to determine the preparedness 
of the pupil for the next work. The main thing is 
to do justice to the pupil and secure for him the best 
position for work and growth. No device of any 
kind should ever be used in such a way as to preclude 
the promotion of a pupil, if we are certain he can do 
the work of the next grade or section. ^ ^ 

Grading Schemes.— In determining promotions it is 
common to use some grading scheme. The figure 
schemes, which include rankings from 1 to 10 and 
per cents, from 60 or 70 to 100, are in common use. 
All figure schemes offer some difficulties, because it is 
hard to make them tell the whole truth. They are 
very arbitrary, and the teacher is prone to put his 
own interpretation upon their meaning. Notwith- 
standing this, they are much used. There are several 
letter schemes in very common use— for example, A, 
B, C, D, and E. Sometimes there is a correlative 
figure scheme, to give significance to these letters, 
and sometimes they merely represent rankings. 
Also we have the letters E, G, P, and F used. They 
are supposed to denote a quality of work, but they 
are quite unsatisfactory for the reason that they are 
difficult to understand with any great measure of 
certainty. In discussing records, we have pointed 
out the need for some better system than either of 
these. A few attempts have been made to put grad- 
ing on a scientific basis, but they are too crude 
and unsatisfactory to be employed by the ordinary 
teacher. 

Use of the Library.— Where there is a library 
connected with the schoolroom, it is necessary to 



98 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

provide some plan for the use of the books, in order 
to avoid confusion and at the same time secure a 
fair distribution of the privileges which the library 
affords. The use of the dictionary and other labora- 
tory material may demand some formal arrangement 
to secure effective use, but the simplest workable 
formula should be provided for such matters. The 
author well remembers a second grade teacher who 
put supplemental material on a table in the back 
of the room. Sometimes this material was a map, 
sometimes supplementary reading or laboratory 
material for nature study or number work. The only 
rule that was ever made about it was that but two 
children should work at the table at the same time 
and that they must do their work quietly and return 
to their seats promptly. The plan was a complete 
success, due in a large measure to the spirit of the 
room, caused by the personality and efficiency of 
the teacher. 

Leaving the Room. — It is necessary to provide some 
plan by which children may be excused from the 
room. This is sometimes difficult to do, because 
some children require special treatment. A hard- 
and-fast rule may work great harm and injustice; 
indeed, it may be positively detrimental to the 
health of the child. The teacher should be wise 
enough to secure some plan which will not work a 
hardship and, at the same time, will not allow chil- 
dren to abuse the privilege and waste their time. 

Getting Water. — The school plant should be pro- 
vided with sanitary drinking fountains and there 
should be enough of these to allow all children to 
get a drink at recess or intermission, without having 
to wait too long. If a bucket is used, individual 
drinking-cups should be provided, as there is no 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 99 

other agency which spreads contagious disease as 
does the pubUc drinking cup. In very warm weather 
we demand more water than in cold weather, there- 
fore it may be necessary for children to have a drink 
of water between intermissions if the weather is 
very warm. In such cases it is well to let the whole 
school rest a moment and get a drink of fresh water. 

Fire Drill. — Even a one-room rural school should 
have a fire drill at least once or twice a month. 
The drill is good because of orderliness which de- 
velops from it and in case of fire or storm it is abso- 
lutely necessary to insure protection. In the towns 
or cities it is imperative that well-organized fire 
drills be given at least two or three times per month. 

Distribution of Material. — Some simple scheme for 
the collection and distribution of writing and draw- 
ing material is usually necessary unless pupils have 
individual desks with locks upon them. Usually 
monitors should be appointed to distribute and col- 
lect the more important bits of material. Sometimes 
it is desirable to have a monitorial system for the 
distribution of wraps, dinner-pails, etc., before pass- 
ing the children out of the schoolroom. 

School Records. — No adequate system of school 
records has yet been devised for rural schools and 
village or town schools. Recently a committee of 
the National Education Association worked out a 
very elaborate and complete system of records for 
city schools, but these records cannot be used in 
the rural school or the small town. For the rural 
school we should have a permanent record for the 
teacher and the clerk of the school district. The 
clerk should be the custodian of the teacher's record 
during vacation, and it should be his duty to see 
that it is put into the new teacher's hands several 



100 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



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1915— PUBLIC SCHOOLS— 1916. 
Report Card. 

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102 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

days before the beginning of the school term in the 
fall, so that the teacher may familiarize herself with 
the facts in it before the opening of school. The 
record should include the name and daily attend- 
ance of each pupil, and, in case the student is dropped 
from the record during the term, the date and cause 
should be stated. The record should denote accu- 
rately the scholarship of each student, with some 
of the more striking individual characteristics of the 
student. A record which shows only the standing of 
the pupil in percents and letters is of small value to 
a new teacher, consequently some other facts should 
be given. Records should show the exact grading or 
classification of the school. A duplicate of this 
record should be the property of the Board of Edu- 
cation in the district. 

A monthly or quarterly report of the record of 
each student in scholarship, attendance and deport- 
ment should be sent to the parents. To be of much 
significance, the scholarship record should show, in 
addition to the ordinary grade, the ranking of the 
student in his class, for the reason that letters 
and percents are of small value in describing the 
student's record unless they are considered in con- 
nection with the group or class standing. In addition, 
this record should show something concerning the 
home tasks, the grades for which are given by the 
parents. In the ''State Course of Study for the 
Rural and Graded Schools in the State of Missouri'' 
for the year 1915, a suggested form of report card is 
printed. With considerable modification, I present 
that card to illustrate this discussion (pp. 100 and 101). 

Another record should be kept by the teacher 
and turned over to the district clerk at the close of 
each term, in which there is a complete catalog of 



SCHOOLROOM TECHNIQUE 103 

all the books, pictures, and other apparatus of the 
school. It is a common complaint that it is hardly 
worth while to buy school equipment, as it is not 
taken care of by the teacher or the children. Such 
a record would furnish the board a definite way in 
which to keep an account of the school equipment. 

One other interesting record of an historical nature 
should be kept, in which is described all the special 
days observed by the school and the more significant 
activities of community life. If the school becomes 
a real community center, that record would eventu- 
ally come to be very interesting and valuable. 

Summary. — It should be recognized that all of 
the foregoing principles are not an end in themselves, 
but merely a means to securing suitable working 
conditions for the group. The children should be 
made to understand that these rules and schemes 
are primarily for the purpose of enabling them to 
work in the best way possible; that they are not 
devised for the teacher, or because the teacher 
wants them for herself, or because even a single 
child wants them; but because a group is trying to 
work together, rules defining the rights and privi- 
leges of its members are necessary. This spirit 
should pervade the whole schoolroom organization. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. State objections to the requirement that all children 
should move in the schoolroom under the same definite 
signals. 

2. Work out a good plan for the use of the school 
library. 

3. What scheme would you adopt to excuse children 



104 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

from the schoolroom? For getting drinks? Sharpen- 
ing pencils? Disposing of waste paper? 

4. What are the essentials of a good fire drill? 

5. Describe a good monitorial service for the schoolroom. 

6. What facts about the school and school children 
should be sent to the parents? Given general pub- 
licity? 

7. In a county system what records should be kept for 
the county superintendent? 

READINGS. 

Bagley: Classroom Management, Chap. III., V.-VIL, and 

XIIL 
Colgrove: The Teacher and the School, Chap. IX., XL, 

and Part III. 
Dutton: School Management, Chap. VI.-IX. and XIX. 
Seeley: A New School Management, Chap. VI.-XVL 



CHAPTER X. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS INVOLVED IN THE 
PROCESSES OF INSTRUCTION. 

No elaborate discussion of the various phases of 
psychology can be undertaken in such a brief text 
its this, but it is necessary to present some of the 
more salient features of that important science, in- 
asmuch as they underlie the entire learning process. 

There are three major planes of human action 
or behavior. To state them in the simplest terms, 
these classes of actions may be denominated re- 
flexes, instincts, and thinking or ideation. 

Reflex Actions. — On the lowest plane we say that 
certain actions, such as breathing, circulation, di- 
gestion, winking, swallowing, the sucking and cry- 
ing of a baby are reflexes. No conscious volition of 
any kind is necessary for the performance of these 
acts. We may conclude that all of these activities 
are directly the results of heredity, consequently we 
have very little if anything to do with them in the 
process of education. With only slight qualification 
we may say that almost all of these actions are per- 
formed with as much certainty and efficiency at 
birth as at any time. 

Instinctive Actions. — Instinctive actions differ from 
reflex actions only in the nature of their complexity. 
Several reflexes are woven together to form an in- 
stinct. It is common for the psychologist to speak 
of instincts as race habits, therefore it is proper to 
consider them as inherited actions or responses, 



106 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

much like reflexes. Unlike reflexes, however, in- 
stincts concern us much in the processes of educa- 
tion. 

Classification of Instincts. — Angell ^ has made the 
following simple classification of instincts: fear, 
anger, shyness, curiosity, affection, sexual love, 
jealousy and envy, rivalry, sociability, sympathy, 
modesty, play, imitation, constructiveness, secretive- 
ness, and acquisitiveness. 

Colvin & Bagley ^ have made the following very 
interesting classification: (1) Adaptive Instincts, in- 
cluding curiosity and play; (2) Individualistic In- 
stincts, including fighting, anger, hate, pride, vanity, 
arrogance, and shame; (3) Sex and Parental In- 
stincts, including sexual and parental love, sex 
jealousy, and grief; (4) Social Instincts, including 
rivalry, grouping or gregariousness, co-operation, 
altruism, envy, emulation, sociability, loyalty, pity, 
sympathy, grief, and remorse; (5) Religious In- 
stincts, including feelings of reverence, humility, 
and veneration; and (6) ^Esthetic Instincts, which 
include the feelings of rhythm, harmony, ecstasy, 
admiration and rapture. 

Colvin & Bagley^ have worked out from this 
classification a very interesting table which gives 
the name of the instinct, its physical expression and 
the normal feelings which may accompany this 
expression and emotion, and also the emotion 
aroused by blocking or thwarting the adequate ex- 
pression of the instinct. We present the table here- 
with: 



1 Angell: Textbook of General Psychology, p. 297. 

2 Colvin & Bagley: Human Behavior, pp. 128-138. 

3 Ihid., pp. 137 and 138. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 



107 





Physical 


Normal Feeling 


Emotion Aroused 


Name of Instinct 


Expression 


Accompanying 


by "Blocking" of 






Adequate 


Adequate 






Expression 


Expression 


Adaptive: 








Imitation. 


Copying acts of oth- 


.Vdmiration. 


.'.ixation. 


Repetition. 


ers. 
Repeating one's own 
movements. 






Play. 


Spontaneous activ- 
ity. 

Prying, exploring, 
taking apart. 

Putting together. 


Exhilaration. 


Hysterical ecstasy. 


Inquisitiveness." 


Curiosity. 


VV^onder. 


Constructiveness. 


Pleasure of con- 


Perplexity, elation. 






struction. 




Migration. 


Sseking new sur- 


Novelty, " Wander- 






roundings. 


lust." 




Acquisitiveness. 


Collecting, hoarding. 


Desire. 


Greed, avarice. 


Individualistic: 








(a) Self-protective: 








Combative. 


Fighting. 


Resentment. 


Anger, wrath, 
frenzy. 


Retractive: 






(1) Shrinking. 


Hiding. 


Timidity. 


Terror. 


(2) Flight, 


Flight. 


Fear. 


D spair. 


Repulsive: 


Thrusting away. 


Dislike, dread. 


Disgust. 


(b) Self-assertive: 








Self-assertion. 


Strutting, preening, 


Arrogance, superi- 


Shame, humilia- 




domineering. 


ority, pride, van- 
ity. 


tion. 


(c) Anti-social: 






Teasing and 
Bullying. 
Predatory. 


Torture, insult. 


Contempt. 




Stealing, destroying. 


Vindictiveness. 


ILUe. 


ijhyness. 


Withdrawal, seeking 
solitude. 


Self-distrust. 


Fright. 


Sex and Parental: 








^x. 


Mating. 


Conjugal love. 


Passion, sex jeal- 


Protection of young. 


Guarding, shielding. 


Parental love. 


ousy. 
S3lf-renunciation, 
grief. 


Social- 






Rivalry. 


Competitive acts. 


Emulation. 


Jealousy, envy. 


Gregarious. 


Congregating in 


Sociability, kin- 


Homesickness, 




groups. 


ship. 


yearning for com- 
panionship. 


Co-operative. 


Working together. 


Loyalty. 


Remorse. 


Altruistic. 


Helping others. 


Friendliness, solici- 


Sympathy, pity, 






tude. 


grief. 


Religious: 








Self-abasement. 


Subjugation. 


Reverence, humil- 
ity, veneration. 


Awe. 


Esthetic: 








Rhythmic. 


Dancing, song, 
chant. 


Harmony. 


Ecstasy. 




Contemplation. 


Admiration. 


Rapture. 



Education and Instinct. — What have these instincts 
to do with the problems of education? This is a 
'question of most vital importance because all edu- 
cation must begin with some one or more of them. 



108 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Men have not been fully aware of this very important 
truth at all times during the past centuries. Indeed, 
it may be said that even now we are not well pre- 
pared to take advantage of all these instinctive ca- 
pacities. We are not prepared because we have no 
adequate and complete classification of all of the 
human instincts, and even if we had the classifica- 
tion made, we do not know how to adapt many of 
the instinctive actions in such a way as to turn them 
to account in the formal instruction of schools. 
In our eagerness to set man off as different from the 
rest of the animal kingdom we have neglected to 
value his instinctive capacities. Unfortunately for 
the children, we have expected them to have adult 
capacities when they come to school, and we under- 
take to make them perform tasks for which they have 
no aptitude or capacity and in which they have no 
vital interest. In such attempts, a careful analysis 
usually shows that some one or more fundamental 
instincts which might have been used have been en- 
tirely overlooked or ignored. 

To answer the question with some definiteness we 
can say that education should strive to check or 
inhibit certain instincts, such, for instance, as fight- 
ing and teasing; some other instincts, such as co- 
operation, sympathy, and acquisitiveness, should be 
stimulated; and, most important of all, education 
must give direction and guidance to almost all of 
the instincts. Especially is this true concerning 
imitation, play, constructiveness, acquisitiveness, 
curiosity, and altruism. These native capacities 
should be seized by the teacher and given such 
guidance and direction as will insure the largest 
possible growth and development during the school 
period. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 109 

Thinking or Ideation. — We have already spoken of 
human actions on the two lower levels or planes, 
namely, reflexes and instincts, but human action at 
its highest level is the result of thinking, or, as it has 
been termed by psychologists, ideation. Thinking is 
different from the two other activities in that it in- 
volves definite consciousness, or awareness, and pur- 
pose; in fact we say that it is this capacity which sets 
man off distinctly from the lower animals. Man's 
ability to act purposefully and thoughtfully is his 
highest and most valuable characteristic. But be- 
fore man's action can be raised to the thought level, 
he must have certain important experiences, for we 
know that small children are prompted to act pri- 
marily by responses and instincts. These necessary 
experiences are acquired through sense perception. 

Sense Perception. — We cannot vitally interest small 
children in very abstract material of any kind, be- 
cause certain fundamental, first-hand experiences 
are necessary before the mind is ready to act in 
general terms. Therefore the elementary school 
should make sure that a large fund of simple ''sense 
material" is provided for its pupils. The old-fash- 
ioned multiplication table, the isolated facts of 
geography and history, and even the word list which 
was memorized under various schemes, all violate 
this fundamental principle. The child must have a 
large fund of sense material before he can be inter- 
ested in remote abstractions. We are recognizing 
the importance of this fact more than formerly, and 
a large number of devices are being used to bring 
the subject matter down to the level of the child's 
experience; however, there remains in the ordinary 
elementary-school subjects much material which is 
entirely too far removed from the child's experience 



no ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

to be learned with any considerable degree of in- 
terest and thoroughness. 

It may be stated as a good working principle that 
each one of the subjects in the elementary school 
should be presented in such a way as to make the 
greatest number of sense experiences possible. For 
example, in word mastery the child will learn more 
readily after he has had the opportunity to see the 
word which he is trying to master, to hear it spoken, 
to see or to perform some appropriate action growing 
out of the use of it, and then to attempt to write it. 
It has been shown conclusively that in learning to 
spell efficiently the gain is almost in direct pro- 
portion to the number of sense appeals which have 
been made in the instruction. For example, those 
students who hear the word, see it, spell it, and pro- 
nounce it, and finally write it, make the best scores 
in spelling. We are just beginning to learn the value 
of such subjects as drawing, manual training, and 
household arts for giving to children those essential 
experiences necessary for the thought processes 
which come during the early stages of education. 
A more adequate discussion of this important prin- 
ciple will be made in connection with the chapter 
on ^'The New Curriculum.'^ 

Apperception. — The author understands that the 
word apperception has very little positive standing in 
present-day psychology or pedagogy, and yet it is 
used so generally that it seems desirable to employ 
it in this discussion. For our purposes we may say 
that it is used to indicate those types of mental 
activity which go on in connection with acquiring 
experiences and discovering meaning in connection 
with them. It may be noted also that one's present 
set or frame of mind has much to do with the sort 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 111 

of meaning which will be taken out of any new ex- 
perience. 

In the preceding section we urged the very great 
importance of sense impressions, but it was pointed 
out also that sense impressions do not constitute the 
final stage of knowledge, and so long as they remain 
in isolation they are not so very valuable. The ac- 
cumulation of sense impressions is valuable in so 
far as it may be used to interpret new experiences 
and to provide for generalizations. By generali- 
zation we mean here some principle which has been 
discovered or developed out of a number of the 
child's experiences. Of course it is evident that the 
value of generalization consists in the fact that it 
may be used as a short-cut to the interpretation of 
many other experiences involving some of the com- 
mon elements which were originally used to make 
up the generalization. It may be worth while to 
offer some concrete material to show how this im- 
portant mental activity goes on. 

A small boy who had stepped on the hot-air regis- 
ter in the floor of a store said to his father, ''This 
must be a stove and I should not stand on it.'^ He 
had been used to stoves in his home and did not know 
anything about furnaces placed in the basement, 
and because the heat was coming out of the register 
or off it he gave this simple interpretation directly 
out of his limited experience in such matters. 

Another small boy who had been used to ducks 
and had never seen any geese suddenly came upon 
a flock of tame geese. He exclaimed, ''What a lot 
of big ducks!" His knowledge of ducks was utilized 
to characterize this new experience. 

Not long ago the author was crossing the Rocky 
Mountains in company with some small children 



112 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

who had never seen any mountains. One youngster 
exclaimed, in great ecstasy, ''Such high hills! 
Wouldn't it be fun to climb them?'' This youngster 
was merely doing his best to describe his new ex- 
perience. 

On another occasion some children who had Uved 
in the country all their lives were brought suddenly 
to the shore of Lake Michigan and one said, ''My, 
this is a mighty big pond." His only experience 
with bodies of water of any size had been in terms of 
ponds and that was the best way he knew to describe 
this new experience. 

One of the best examples, much more complex 
than these, is the classic story of Alexander told in 
Rousseau's Emile.^ Alexander had been told that 
his physician, Philip, was false and was planning to 
poison him, but when the physician offered him some 
medicine Alexander took it without the slightest 
hesitation. This story has been retold by McMurry 
and others to illustrate the principle of appercep- 
tion. 

"I once spent a few days in the country at the house of a lady 
who took great interest in the education of her children. One 
morning as I was present at the lesson of the eldest, his tutor, 
who had very thoroughly instructed him in ancient history, 
calling up the story of Alexander, dwelt on the well-known 
incident of his physician Philip, which has often been represented 
on canvas, and is surely well worth the trouble. The tutor, 
a man of worth, made several reflections on the intrepidity of 
Alexander which did not please me, but which I refrained from 
combating in order not to discredit him in the estimation of his 
pupil. At table, according to the French custom, there was no 
lack of effort to make the little fellow chatter with great freedom. 
^ Rousseau: Emile, translated by Payne, pp. 77 and 78. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 113 

After dinner, suspecting from several indications that my 
young savant had comprehended nothing v/hatever of the history 
that had been so finely recited to him, I took him by the hand 
and we made a tour of the park together. Having questioned 
him with perfect freedom, I found that he admired the boasted 
courage of Alexander more than any other one of the company; 
but can you imagine in what particular he saw his courage? 
It was merely in the fact of having swallowed at a single draught 
a disagreeable potion without hesitation, without the least sign 
of disgust. The poor child, who had been made to take medicine 
not a fortnight before, and who had swallowed it only after 
infinite effort, still had the taste of it in his mouth. In his mind, 
death and poisoning passed for disagreeable sensations, and he 
could conceive no other poison than senna. However, it must 
be acknowledged that the firmness of the hero had made a strong 
impression on his young heart, and that he had resolved to be 
an Alexander the very first time he should find it necessary 
to swallow medicine. Without entering into explanations which 
were evidently beyond his capacity, I confirmed him in these 
laudable intentions, and I returned, laughing in my sleeve at 
the exalted wisdom of parents and teachers who think that they 
can teach history tp children." 

From reading the story it is evident that at least 
four different interpretations were put upon it. 
First, on the face of it, the tutor and the child in- 
terpreted it to mean that Alexander was a very 
brave and fearless man; second, it is possible to in- 
terpret it in such a way as to feel that Alexander 
was foolish and lacked discretion; third, Rousseau 
gave it the interpretation that Alexander knew his 
physician and trusted him implicitly; and finally, 
a careful examination of the child's real interpreta- 
tion made out the fact that he considered Alexander 
brave simply because he had taken some bad medi- 



114 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

cine, the interpretation being given in the light of 
his recent experience of having to take some dis- 
agreeable medicine. 

Applications. — Certain important applications of 
principle suggest themselves. (1) The first is the 
great importance of previous knowledge in inter- 
preting every new experience. Before new lessons 
are assigned or new problems attempted, it is im- 
perative that the teacher should as far as possible 
take stock of, or determine, the range of experiences 
in the class, to see if they are sufficient for the com- 
prehension of the new situation. Much waste goes 
on because of the lack of the application of this prin- 
ciple. (2) Learning is made easier when the new 
material is presented in very close connection with 
the old experience. (3) We may expect the different 
members of the class to get different interpretations 
from the same assignment, no matter how careful 
and definite that assignment may be. (4) In con- 
nection with the new experience or situation some 
remaking or reconstructing of the old experiences 
necessarily takes place. This reconstruction should 
be of such a nature as to cause the old material to 
have an increased value. Indeed, the whole process 
should go on in such a way that the modification 
of the old experience, in connection with the new 
ones, shall add to the power and efficiency of the in- 
dividual. (5) One of the chief functions of the teach- 
er is to show children how to work and study in such 
a way as to provide for the greatest possible growth 
in connection with all of their experiences, in school 
and out of school. 

The Law of Imitation. — Both as teachers and as 
parents we need to recognize the very great impor- 
tance which the law of imitation plays in the life 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 115 

of the child. We say the ''mother tongue." By 
that we mean that the child has learned the lan- 
guage, whether it be English, French, or German, 
from its mother. The language has been learned by 
imitation. Sometimes imitation is almost at the 
very lowest level of activity, because sometimes 
children act in reflexes or, on the basis of the old 
saw, ''Monkey sees, monkey does." 

We have all heard very small children repeat 
words from the conversation of the home without 
any considerable appreciation of the meaning of 
them; and it is very common to see small children, 
in play, dramatize the more serious activities of the 
household, farm, or community. Likewise, we know 
how real characters, or even ideal characters in 
books, are taken as ideals towards which we strive 
to attain. We should remember that the child comes 
to school with a very large fund of experiences, in- 
cluding a very wide range of activity. 

Value of Imitation. — It should be remembered that 
the imitative attitude is instinctive and that its 
value is primarily to be found in the fact that the 
race in this way insures the economical transfer of 
such material as is fundamentally necessary for the 
rapid progress of the new member of the group. The 
school should make use of this valuable method, 
but it should be used with great discretion, because 
we do not want to make children mere imitators. 
We want to leave room for individual initiative and 
freedom for personal development. It is a good thing 
that children may imitate their parents, other chil- 
dren, and the teacher, but to secure large develop- 
ment they must be allowed to have a large range of 
social experiences. In the formation of their ideals 
they should have some knowledge of the great char- 



116 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

acters in literature and history and, if possible, 
should come in contact with some people of lofty 
ideals and purposes. 

It is well to remember that there is a phase of imi- 
tation which expresses itself on the basis of contrary 
suggestion. It is difficult to lay down any general 
rule about it, but both the teacher and the parent 
should know that their children act in this way at 
times. Sometimes a teacher or parent will give such 
directions or set up such limitations or prohibitions 
as to cause the child to do the very thing it had not 
thought about before. J For illustration, I once knew a 
mother to go away from home, telling the children 
not to go near an old well which was out in the 
orchard, as they might fall in and get hurt. When 
she returned she was horrified to find one of the small 
children down in the well. Fortunately, as there was 
only a little water in it, the child was not much in- 
jured. When she asked the children about disobey- 
ing her they said they had really gone to look at the 
well to see if they would fall in. Both in the home 
and in the school many parallel instances can be 
found. 

Dangers in Imitation. — As was indicated in a pre- 
vious sentence, the chief danger in the use of imitation 
as a method for instruction is to be found in the fact 
that we may make mere parrots out of children. 
The particular form of word or action may be used 
as the final thing in the instruction. We should 
keep in mind that mere form or convention is not the 
end, but rather the education of a human being. 
If this is done the method may be employed with 
much value and effectiveness with reference to many 
of the simpler educational processes. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 117 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Make a list of the important instincts. How are 
each of these of value in education? 

2. How does the child learn to walk? 

3. Is correct language a result of imitation or of a 
knowledge of the rules of grammar? 

4. Name some habits or ideals which you have as a 
direct result from imitating some one you admire. 

5. A teacher told some boys not to climb a tree to dis- 
turb a bird's nest. They did so. Why? 

6. Why is most arithmetic instruction difficult for small 
children? 

7. Without looking at a foot ruler or yard stick go to 
the board and mark off a foot and a yard. Get a 
ruler and measure the lines. How accurate were 
you? What caused you to be inaccurate? 

8. State clearly the law of apperception. 

9. Recall three examples of apperception in your own 
experience. 

10. A small boy at a circus stood before some kangaroos 
and said that they were large rabbits. What made 
him say it? 

READINGS. 

Bagley: The Educative Process, Part III. 
Colvin: The Learning Process, Chap. XIV., XV., and XVI. 
Charters: Methods of Teaching, Chap I. and IV. 
Klapper: Principles of Educational Practice, Chap. XIII. 

and XIV. 
Pyle: Outlines of Educational Psychology, Chap. IV.-IX. 
Strayer: A Brief Course in the Teaching Process, Chap. 11. 

and VII. 
Thorndike: Educational Psychology, Part I. and II. 
Thorndike: Principles of Teaching, Chap. III. and XJJ. 



CHAPTER XI. 

PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS INVOLVED IN THE 
PROCESSES OF INSTRUCTION 

(Continued). 

Individual Differences. — The teacher and the school 
must recognize much more definitely than has been 
the case that there are very great differences among 
children, even those of the same age and experiences. 
There are very great differences among people even 
when they have been through the same general expe- 
riences for a number of years. These differences 
manifest themselves in many interesting and varied 
ways. Some of the more important may be observed 
here. 

Some children have great initiative and courage, 
while others are timid and filled with fear without 
any apparent reason; some children are alert, while 
others are habitually slow; some children are in- 
terested in working with their hands, others delight 
in books; some children gain information readily 
through the sense of sight, others want to touch or 
to hear before they are satisfied ; some children seem 
to acquire a sense of responsibility quite readily, 
while others seem almost never able to assume re- 
sponsibility for themselves or others. 

These differences are important, because they have 
to do with the amount and character of work which 
will be accomplished in a given grade by a group of 
children. When the graded scheme supplanted 
the individual scheme of instruction we thought we 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 119 

had achieved a marked advance, but, when we take 
into account these important facts, we must see at 
once that the graded plan has its drawbacks. In the 
graded plan we make our assignments and require- 
ments on the assumption that children are equally 
capable to do any task we give them. We assign so 
many words to be spelled, so many pages to be read, 
or so many problems to be solved by all the members 
of the class, making no material allowance for the 
wide variations in ability which exist. Moreover, 
we keep the old style of classroom instruction which 
insists that all students shall do the same work and 
the same amount of work. This is both a psycholog- 
ical impossibility and absurdity. It might be well 
to give some very concrete examples to show the 
importance of these differences in relation to the 
matter of instruction. 

The author remembers very well studying a hrst 
grade in which he found children having a vocabu- 
fary varying from one hundred words to one thousand 
words, although all the members of the class were six 
years of age. At. the end of the year two members 
of the class had been promoted to the third grade 
and three members of the class had not yet learned 

to read. 

Recently the author went into a class m our rural 
school course (which is at about the level of the third 
year of high school) and asked the members of that 
class to write all the words they could in three min- 
utes, the words to be taken out of the vocabulary 
they had learned in the course in rural school 
psychology. The students were directed to write 
at their ordinary rate and in their usual way of writ- 
ing. The following interesting results are shown by 
the tabulation: 



120 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



Students 


Words 


1 


7 


1 


8 


3 


9 


5 


10 


2 


11 


6 


12 


5 


13 


3 


14 


4 


15 


2 


16 


1 


17 


2 


18 


1 


21 



36 

It will be observed that one student wrote only 
seven words and another twenty-one words, — three 
times as many as the first. The following seven 
words were written by the first student mentioned: 

Synapse 

Dendrite 

Axone 

Obsolete 

Cortex 

Neurone 

Reflex 

The second student wrote the following: 

Illusion 

Hallucination 

Perception 

Consciousness 

Concept 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 121 

Imagery 

Instructive 

Reflex 

Activities 

Habitual 

Innate 

Tendencies 

Attention 

Complex 

Passive 

Active 

Curiosity 

Altruistic 

Predatory 

Gregarious 

Co-operative 

In addition to the factor of speed, even more im- 
portant differences might be pointed out if we were 
to discuss the relative importance of the words se- 
lected. That, however, is not necessary for our 
purpose here. 

Another interesting example of a similar type is 
to be found in the following experiment: Lincoln's 
First Inaugural Address was assigned to a group of 
thirty-two Freshmen college students with the fol- 
lowing directions, — Read the selection at a normal 
rate of speed. Note the time of beginning the read- 
ing and the time when the selection is finished. 
Without re-reading or in any way referring to the 
selection, reproduce the thought of the address, not- 
ing the time of beginning and of finishing the re- 
production. The results were : 



122 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



Number of students. 


Minutes spent in reading. 


1 




10 


1 




13 


1 




14 


4 




15 


1 




18 


10 




20 


2 




24 


3 




25 


2 




29 


5 




30 


1—1 




32 


1 




38 


Number of students. 


Minutes 


spent in reproduction. 


1 




8 


3 




10 


2 




14 


4 




15 


3 




19 


6 




20 


2 




22 


5 




25 


3 




28 


2 




30 


1 




35 



The material reproduced was examined and found 
to show variation in amount reproduced as follows: 

Number of students. Number of thoughts reproduced. 

3 15-24 

3 25-34 

6 35-44 

6 45-54 

8 55-64 

3 65-74 

1 75-84 
85-94 

2 95-104 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 123 

And still another example is the following: Car- 
dinal Newman's ''Definition of a Gentleman" was 
assigned to another group of thirty college freshmen, 
with similar directions for reading and reproduction. 
The results were: 



Number of students. 


Minutes spent in reading. 


3 


3 


4 


3^ 


4 


4 


7 


5 


4 


6 


6 


7 


4 


9 


Number of students. 


Minutes spent hi reproduction. 


1 


4 


3 


5 


2 


6 


3 


7 


4 


8 


4 


9 


2 


11 


2 


13 


3 ' 


18 


4 


19 


4 


22 


Number of students. 


Number of thoughts reproduced. 


4 


5-9 


10 


10-14 


8 


15-19 


4 


20-24 


4 


25-29 



It will be observed that, whether speed in writing 
or reproduction or the amount of reproduction be 
considered with reference to these two simple experi- 
ments, there is a very wide range of ability manifested 
in a group of students who have spent twelve years 



124 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

in the ordinary tasks of our schools. Any amount 
of evidence might be offered to show differences in 
capacity, but it seems that the above should suffice. 
Applications. — We must, therefore, cease to ex- 
pect children, even though they are in the same grade 
and of about the same age, to do exactly the same 
amount of work in a given time. It is not only un- 
fair and unjust, but also impossible. There is also 
an important moral question involved, in that chil- 
dren under the pressure of such an unjust procedure 
will resort to many types of cheating and dishonesty, 
which they would never think about if they were 
treated fairly on the basis of their capacity to do 
work. In our assignments and requirements we 
must find room for these marked individual dif- 
ferences. It may be done by maximum and minimum 
assignments, involving the textbook material and 
such supplementary material as we may choose to 
use in connection with the ordinary class work. In 
any event we must not continue the present scheme. 
Some other suggestions have been made as to means 
of providing for individual differences in the chap- 
ter on ^^Instruction." 

Formal Discipline. — Very much discussion has been 
given in the more recent pedagogical and psycho- 
logical literature to the subject of mental discipline 
or the acquiring of skill. No detailed consideration 
of that literature need to be set forth here, as it 
could not be done with profit. A brief statement 
concerning some of the more important phases of 
the case should be presented, however, because 
many parents and teachers still insist that certain 
subjects or parts of subjects shall be taken by their 
children, on the supposition that such studies will 
give some general capacity. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 125 

Not very long ago a very capable business man, 
who was a member of my board of education, in- 
sisted that he thought it would be a good thing to 
require some work in arithmetic in each year of a 
four-year high-school course, his argument being 
that it furnished material with which to discipline 
the mind. A few days since a father (himself a 
college graduate) said to me that his boys must take 
all of the mathematics offered in the normal school, 
beginning with algebra and including analytics and 
calculus, because he thought these subjects insured 
the training of the reasoning powers. So we are told 
that history material trains the memory, that Latin 
and English train the logical powers of the mind, 
and that the natural sciences train the observation. 

All of these statements imply that the mind has 
a single power to reason or a single power to remember 
or observe, when, as a matter of fact, such is not the 
case at all. To state it in very simple, uhpsycholog- 
ical terms, the mind has many ways of remembering 
and reasoning and of observing — in fact, almost as 
many ways as ;t has different sorts of experiences. 
This might be illustrated indefinitely from the re- 
cent material of experimental pedagogy or psy- 
chology, but an account of a few simple tests will 
suffice for our present purposes. 

A simple puzzle was selected and given to an 
arithmetic class of twenty members. It turned out 
that the poorest member of the class solved the 
puzzle first and that the best member of the class 
gave it up in despair after trying thirty minutes. 
Now the puzzle had to be reasoned out, but Mr. A, 
the best student in the class, was not used to that 
sort of reasoning, whereas Mr. X, who was a poor 
arithmetic student, had taken great delight in 



126 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

puzzle-working and had a large collection of puzzles. 

Recently, in a Freshman college class in the 
Principles of Teaching, the author asked the students 
to memorize Homer's Iliad for ten days, keeping an 
accurate score of the number of words and number 
of Hues learned each day. On the eleventh day, 
without any warning, they were handed a book 
containing selections of nonsense syllables and told 
to go on with their memorizing, using these nonsense 
syllables, keeping an accurate score in words and 
lines. On the sixteenth day they were handed copies 
of the Iliad, with the request that they begin memo- 
rizing the Iliad exactly at the same place they had 
left off on the tenth day, and they were told to keep 
the score to include the twentieth day. The de- 
tailed tabulation might be interesting, but, for the 
sake of brevity, we present only a summary of the 
results. 

Every member of the class was seriously disturbed 
by the transfer from the Iliad to the nonsense syl- 
lables and from the nonsense syllables back again 
to the Iliad. No member of the class in the second 
trial with the Iliad reached so high a level as he 
had acquired in the first ten days. Several members 
of the class started their second trial at the Ihad 
much lower than on their first day of memorizing it. 

While no sweeping generalization should be made 
on such experiments as this, it seems very evident 
that the sort of material memorized has much to do 
with the processes involved in the act, and possibly 
we should say that we have very different capacities 
for remembering different sorts of material. One 
psychologist has said, ''We have many memories.'' 

It is very doubtful if learning one sort of material 
helps us to any great extent in learning other ma- 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 127 

terial of a very different nature. For example, 
solving problems in arithmetic would probably have 
little to do with learning the facts of agriculture, 
and the work done in manual training would prob- 
ably have little to do with helping a student to mem- 
orize conjugations in English grammar. The ma- 
terial is too unlike for a set of habits made in one 
of these subjects to be used in the other. 

In other words, learning the material of one 
subject helps in another subject only in so far as 
the substance is essentially similar. For example, 
many of the facts of English history would be of 
value also in the study of English literature; or a 
knowledge of the fundamental processes of arithmetic 
would be useful in algebra, as well as in geometry; 
or the facts of biology might be used in agricul- 
ture. It should be observed, however, that even in 
such examples it is probably not possible to ^ trans- 
fer" the facts or the skill at its full value, for some- 
thing is usually lost in the changed situation. 

It has been pointed out also that certain ways of 
doing things in one subject may be used in con- 
nection with other subjects. For example, if the 
student has been taught the use of a compound 
microscope he can use this instrument in connection 
with any subject or material he desires. The stu- 
dent who has been taught to use the saw and plane 
would be able to manipulate them in connection 
with any kind of wood, whether it be pine, oak, wal- 
nut, or mahogany. 

Applications. — In the matter of Formal Discipline, 
then, we may say : We should study many different 
subjects in order that we may set up many different 
habits. We should not urge that subjects should be 
kept in the course of study or put in the course of 



128 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

study primarily on the grounds of any general dis- 
ciplinary value. We should recognize the fact that 
different subjects may have different values for dif- 
ferent students. The school should offer such ma- 
terial to its pupils as will enable them to make the 
largest number of habits to be used in connection 
with the life of the community. 

The Law of Interest. — Somewhat in contrast to 
the doctrine of discipline, we have the doctrine of 
interest, which was first formulated by Herbart and 
his followers. 

What is interest? Perhaps no other principle in 
pedagogy has received more criticism, adverse and 
favorable, than that of interest. Genuine interest is 
based on a feeling of value and, at the lowest level, 
grows out of some one or more of our instinctive re- 
actions, while at the highest level it is the result of 
thinking and ideation. 

Interests are of two general kinds — namely, im- 
mediate and remote. In the case of an immediate 
interest the value may be realized at once. For ex- 
ample, the solution of a difficult problem in arith- 
metic brings immediate satisfaction. In the case of 
remote interest the high-school student works away 
on his Latin, not liking it at all, but knowing that it 
will be necessary for him to have it to enter medical 
college, where many of the terms employed are de- 
rived from the Latin. His satisfaction or pleasure 
is remote. To be more specific, we may say that 
interest is based on a feeling of value which comes 
out in the gratification of some need, secures some 
pleasure or brings some satisfaction. These may be 
immediate or remote. 

How to Secure It. — In order to secure interest 
we must make use of the native instincts and ca- 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 129 

pacities of children; we must provide suitable tasks 
in which these capacities may be used; we must 
know how child life functions and must present suit- 
able material at every stage of its development; and, 
finally, we must know much about the previous ex- 
periences of the children, in order that a good selec- 
tion shall be made. 

Dangers in the Application of the Law. — The chief 
danger in the application of the law of interest lies 
in the fact that we may try to make things too easy 
by setting artificial problems. Not every task can 
be made immediately interesting. We should not 
undertake to do so. It is a great mistake to talk 
about interest. Instead, the problem should be set 
in such a way as to appeal to the child. 

Applications. — We do not have to choose subject 
matter for our curricula because it is easy, for it 
may be difficult and interesting at the same time. A 
football game is played with great interest and in- 
tensity, but I am sure its most bitter enemy would 
not contend that it presents an easy situation; in- 
deed it is very h^rd work. It is interesting, however, 
because its problems appeal to certain fundamental 
instincts — namely, the fighting instinct, the gaming 
instinct, and the desire for co-operation. Subject 
matter should be selected by the individual and so- 
ciety on the basis of its power to satisfy some one or 
more of our immediate or future needs. As we have 
indicated in another place, all subject matter has 
been evolved in order to help us solve some problem. 
Therefore, if we want to make sure of interest in any 
unit of subject matter now, it must be treated in 
such a way as to help us to solve some modern prob- 
lem. Eventually this must mean the reorganization 
of many school subjects in such a way as to eliminate 



130 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

much material which has only a traditional or his- 
torical value. 

Motor Activity. — Children play or do things before 
and after the school period. At school they sit 
still, or try to do so, and learn lessons. We should 
use play, games, gymnastics, drawing, music, manual 
training, household arts, etc., in which there is a 
great deal of motor activity. It may be observed 
that children usually find much more pleasure and 
enjoyment in subjects in which there is something to 
be done. It would seem that all of the studies and 
tasks in the school should give more consideration 
to this important side of child development. A 
baseball game makes provision for much experience, 
because members of the team will practice for hours 
in order to perfect some particular play. We are 
beginning to use dramatization, with material se- 
lected from literature and history, to provide some- 
what for this type of activity. Not long ago I saw 
a fine United States history recitation in the seventh 
grade, in which the Constitutional Convention was 
dramatized. The students represented the important 
characters of that assembly and even went so far 
as to characterize, in manners, dress and attitudes, 
the statesmen who composed that great council. 
The whole play was staged so as to make a large 
appeal to the motor activities of the participants. 
Much could be done to revitalize many of the diffi- 
cult situations in the elementary-school course if 
more attention were paid to the fact that children 
like active situations and are willing to work most 
earnestly in them, but do not care for the more ab- 
stract problems presented by the school. 



PSYCHOLOGICAL FACTORS 131 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Does your study of arithmetic help you in the study 
of grammar? Explain. 

2. Will trying to get to school on time help one to get 
to Sunday-school or church on time? 

3. Will writing a language paper neatly cause one to 
kill all the weeds in a corn-row or to wash the dishes 
more carefully? 

4. Does learning the multiplication table aid one in 
telling the truth? 

5. Will reading George Washington's Farewell Address 
make one a better citizen? Why? 

6. When is one really interested in a subject? 

7. Does a task need to be easy in order to be inter- 
esting? Give illustrations. 

8. What makes the kindergarten work interesting? 

9. Why are definitions in grammar or rules in arith- 
metic uninteresting? 

10. How can the school aid us in forming desirable per- 
manent interests? 

11. What do instincts have to do with interest? 

12. Is it fair to ask all the children to solve ten problems 
in arithmetic as preparation for one lesson? Justify 
your answer. 

13. Suggest one way of reorganizing the school to provide 
for individual differences. 

14. Could you make maximum and minimum lesson 
assignments? Give the values. 

15. Study the vocabulary of children who come to school 
for the first time to enter the first grade. 

16. What do you mean when you say that a child is 
quick or slow? 



132 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

17. What is an average child? 

18. When is a child a motor t3^pe? 

READINGS. 

Bagley: The Educative Process, Part II. 

Colvin: The Learning Process, Chap. XIV., XV., and 

XVI. 
Charters: Methods of Teaching, Chap. VIII.-XII. 
Klapper: Principles of Educational Practice, Chap. XIII. 

and XIV. 
Pyle: Outlines of Educational Psychology, Chap. II. and 

III. 
Strayer: A Brief Course in the Teaching Process, Chap. II. 

and XVIII. 
Thorndike : Educational Psychology, Part III. 
Thorndike: Principles of Teaching, Chap. V., VL, XIII. 

XV. 



CHAPTER XII. 

INSTRUCTION. 

It is not the primary purpose of this book to 
present a lengthy discussion concerning methods. 
However, since it is to be used as an introduction 
to the general problems in education, it is necessary 
that it give some attention to the more important 
phases of Method as they relate to Instruction. 

The Function of the Recitation.— It is the business of 
the school to furnish to the student the maximum 
amount of subject matter necessary for the formation 
of life ideals, and it is also important that the school 
exercises should furnish the largest amount of ex- 
periences which can be made into valuable habits. 
The recitation is the most essential exercise for the 
accomplishment of both of these purposes. The 
recitation has been discussed in some respects in 
another chapter, but a more detailed discussion of it 
is made in this connection in order that certain es- 
sential factors concerning methods may be presented. 

Methods of Presentation.— The recitation may be 
conducted by means of textbooks, lectures, or de- 
velopment. 

1. A good textbook should be a guide to the teacher 
and the student, but it should not be followed 
slavishly, because it is usually too general and ab- 
stract to meet local situations. It is satisfactory for 
a statement of certain large principles, but a teacher 
must always supplement it with much concrete ma- 
terial. This material may be taken from observa- 



134 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

tions of the children, from the memory of the teach- 
er or children, and from other books. 

2. The lecture method may be used with primary 
children in the form of story-telling, and may assume 
a more formal character in the upper grades and 
high school. This is the most characteristic method 
of both elementary and secondary schools in Ger- 
many. It has the advantage of requiring the most 
thorough preparation on the part of the teacher, 
and by it a large quantity of subject matter may be 
presented to a great number of children in the short- 
est space of time. It has the disadvantages of re- 
quiring the minimum amount of work from the 
student, it may ignore the previous experiences of 
the children, there is no positive way to learn at 
once whether the matter is being comprehended or 
not, and it is difficult to use it with full recognition 
of differences in capacity. 

3. The development lesson^ when well conducted, 
has the advantages of placing large emphasis on the 
child as a worker and thinker and it readily lends it- 
self to nearly every subject of the elementary school; 
for many subjects it is undoubtedly the best method. 
It has, however, the disadvantage of allowing the 
children and the teacher to waste time with need- 
less questions and discussion. Unless careful plan- 
ning is done, it usually provides a poor organization 
of the material taught, and not all subjects can be 
developed satisfactorily. 

A teacher should be trained in such a way as to be 
able to use all of these methods of presentation and 
to be able to make such combinations of them as 
will secure the best results. It is of great value to 
have that peculiar capacity to find real problems 
for children; not problems in abstract form, but such 



INSTRUCTION 135 

as grow out of the school, the Hfe of the child, and 
the community. Children need to be challenged into 
doing the school work because it suggests things worth 
doing; and any form of instruction which does this 
in a given subject should be selected by the teacher. 

Lesson Forms. 

The Inductive Lesson.— Modern pedagogy con- 
tains much discussion on the values of the inductive 
lesson. The Herbartian movement in education, 
which had much to do with systematizing instruc- 
tion, initiated the lesson forms. In Herbart's study 
of the principal problems of. education he found, 
as many other reformers have done, that one of the 
chief defects in education is the lack of any definite 
system. In order to avoid the resulting great waste, 
he devised a systematic arrangement for the more 
important features of class instruction. These plans 
were so thoroughly worked out that they very 
largely influenced the classroom instruction in the 
German schools in the middle period of the nineteenth 
century, and there are still important traces of their 
influence to be found in all European schools. 

Between 1880 and 1895 a number of American 
students went abroad to study in German Universi- 
ties, and there came under the influence of the Her- 
bartian pedagogy. Among these were the McMur- 
rys, De Garmo, Van Liew, and others. When they 
returned to America they became advocates of many 
of the important phases of the Herbartian methods 
and several wrote textbooks, gave lectures on in- 
struction before teachers' conventions, and wrote 
essays in the school journals, setting out the chief 
elements of this new pedagogy. Perhaps one of the 



136 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

most important results of this activity was the im- 
petus given to the form of instruction now known 
as the inductive lesson. 

The important divisions of an inductive lesson are 
now given under the headings: Preparation, Pres- 
entation, Comparison, Abstraction, Generalization, 
and Application. These were not the terms em- 
ployed by Herbart, but have been chosen by his 
followers to represent, in a general way, the ideas 
set forth by him. A brief explanation of these 
terms is offered to demonstrate their significance 
in plan-making and instruction. 

In a preparation for the new lesson, the usual 
method is to review or recall any previous experiences 
of the members of the class which may be utilized 
to enable them to prepare for a rapid appreciation 
of the new material which is to be learned in the les- 
son. The value of this exercise is self-evident when 
we recall what has been said concerning the doctrine 
of apperception. The function of preparation is 
primarily to enable the student to get a good setting 
for the new work, and we should not attempt to 
teach new facts during this step, although it is not 
always possible to keep out all new material, as the 
children may bring in some if the discussion is car- 
ried on informally. 

In presentation the teacher and the pupils will 
make use of some one or more of the various methods 
discussed in a previous section to set forth the new 
facts or principles which are to be learned in the day's 
lesson, the amount of material told by the teacher 
or pupils depending on the sort of work selected and 
the form of method employed by the teacher. 

Comparison is used to enable the student to try to 
ascertain some common element or feature which 



INSTRUCTION 137 

is to be set off, ultimately, as the main discovery of 
the whole process. In this step, previous knowledge 
of the form of facts or principles must be brought 
into view to help set off the new element. 

In abstraction the mind is simply setting off, from 
the mass of other material which has been under re- 
view, the common factor or element which we are 
seeking. 

When the common element has been separated 
from all the other associated facts or principles, we 
say we are ready to make the generalization, which is 
nothing more than the formal statement of our find- 
ings. . 

The last step is usually known as application. 
In this we take the fact or principle which we have 
worked out and undertake to apply it to a great many 
other situations involving similar factors. 

The chief value of the inductive lesson is that it 
provides the children with suitable experiences, so 
that the final statement or generalization is something 
very real to the student and not a mere group of 
words which may have only slight meaning. The 
new textbooks, which are now being prepared for the 
elementary school, have been written largely from 
the inductive point of view. 

The impression should not be obtained from the 
foregoing statement of an inductive lesson that all 
of these steps or features will stand out in every in- 
ductive lesson in definite order; indeed, many times 
two or more of them may be almost completely 
fused. Moreover, in many instances, certain de- 
ductive elements will come into a lesson which is 
predominantly inductive. 

In order to make the above discussion somewhat 
more concrete, we submit some plans. 



138 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



Plan No. 1^ (a lesson in arithmetic for the sixth 
grade) has been used in our observation classes in 
the training-school a number of times. It is not sub- 
mitted with the thought that it is perfect, but it 
is a typical illustration of a lesson which is inductive 
in character. 



PLAN No. 1. 



Arithmetic. 

Subject Matter. 

Review linear measure, square 
measure and area. 

Teach Board Measure. 



Sixth Grade. 



Method of Procedure. 
Aims: 

Ultimate — To teach arithmetic 
for its utilitarian values, to teach 
habits of logical thinking, accu- 
racy, and rapidity in thinking. 

Immediate — To teach Board 
Measure, so far as practical for 
children of this grade. 
Preparation: 

Review hnear measure; ask for 
uses. Review square measure, 
also uses. Ask for area of several 
surfaces. 

What part of a foot is 6 in., 
8 in., 2 in., 10 in., 4 in.? 
Development: 

Ask for uses of lumber. How 
many have ever bought lumber? 
(Boys have doubtless had some 
experience.) Speak of lumber- 
yards in town, saw-mills, if any, 
etc. 

Speak of units of measure in 
buying wood, coal, sand, etc., and 
ask how lumber is measured 
when sold. Some may know that 
the board foot is the unit of meas- 
ure in buying lumber. 

Show piece of lumber repre- 
senting a board foot. Question 
as to dimensions. After all see 
that the board foot is 1 ft. long, 
1 ft. wide, or 1 ft. square on one 
surface, and 1 in. or less in thick- 

1 Plans Nos. 1, 2, and 4 are used by courtesy of Supt. George R. 
Crissman, of the Training School in the State Normal School at 
Warrensburg, Mo. 



INSTRUCTION 



139 



Arithmetic. — {Continued) . 



8' X r X 1" 

9' X 1' X 1" 

8' X 1' X 2" 
9' X 1' X 2" 



8' X r X 3' 
9' X 1' X 3' 

8'xl'x4' 
9'xl'x4' 



Sixth Grade. — (Continued). 
ness. Ask some pupil to describe 
a board foot. 

Impress upon class that all 
lumber less than one inch in 
thickness is regarded as one inch 
thick in computing board feet in 
lumber. 

Show piece of lumber 1 ft. wide, 
2 ft. long, and 1 in. thick, and ask 
for number of feet B. M. 

Show similar piece 3 ft. long, 

and ask for number of feet B. M. 

Ask for abbreviation of "Board 

Measure," and write it on the 

board (B. M.). 

Give similar problems, keeping 
width and thickness 1' x 1", but 
different lengths, and require 
class to give number of feet B. M. 
Take same problems with thick- 
ness of 2" instead of 1". Lead 
pupils to see that a piece of tim- 
ber 2" thick contains twice as 
many board feet as a piece 1" 
thick. Drill on same problems 
with thickness of 3" and 4" in- 
stead of 1". 

After much drill on this part, 
ask how area of a surface is found. 
From previous work pupils will 
say that length is multiplied by 
width. Pupils already know that 
dimensions must be of same de- 
nomination before multiplying, as, 
12 ' x 4 ' X 6 " 
must be chang- 
^ed to 12' by 
-4^' before 
°l multiplying, — 
then 41^ by 12 
sq. ft. equals 
54 sq. ft. 
Since one surface of a board 
foot is one foot square, we find 
the area of one surface in square 
feet as timber 8' long and 18" 
wide has one surface having an 
area of IK x 8 sq. ft., or 12 sq. ft., 
and since we are deahng with 
lumber and it must have thick- 
ness, we may call the 12 sq. ft. 
12 ft. B. M. k the lumber is 1" or 



12 



140 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



Arithmetic. — (Continued) . 



or less in thick- 



Lumber 1 in. 
ness. 
12' X 2' 

9' X 6" 



12 X 2' B. M. equals 24' B. M. 
14xl3^'B. M. " 21'B. M. 



X Vo' B. M. 



43^' B. M. 



3x24' 


B. M. 


u 72' 


B. 


M. 


3x21' 


B. M. 


" 63' 


B. 


M. 


3x 43^' 


B. M. 


''133^' 


B. 


M. 


Find number of feet B 


M 


. in 


boards 1 


in. or 


less in thickness. 


1. 8'x 


3" 








2. 16' x 


6" 








3. 4'x 


3" 








4. 16' X 


3" 








5.15'x 


4" 








6.24'x 


4" 








7. 14' X 


6" 








8.16'x 


12" 








9.18'x 


18" 








10.28'x 


24" 









Sixth Grade. — {Continued). 
less in tliickness. If the lumber 
were 2" thick the number of 
board feet is 2 x 12, or 24. 



The class is now ready to 
see that in finding board feet 
in lumber the area of one 
surface is found in terms of 
square feet, which may be 
called B. M., and this result 
is multiplied by the thick- 
ness in inches. 



Have several problems on 
board for pupils to solve, as: 

Change thickness to 3" and 
solve. 



Let pupils solve following prob- 
lems orally. 



Change thickness and lead pu- 
pils to see how work is to be 
placed on paper. Use thickness 
of 2 in. Do same with thickness 
of 3 in., etc. 



INSTRUCTION 141 

PLAN No. 1. (Concluded). 



Arithmetic. 

Subject Matter. 

2x 8x M'B.M. equals 4' B.M. 
2xl6xK'B.M. " 16'B.M. 
2x 4xM'B.M. " 2'B.M. 



Sixth Grade, 
Method of Procedure. 



Summary. 

Have some child give rule for finding number of 
feet, board measure in lumber, viz., The area of one 
surface is found in terms of square feet, which number 
is called Board Measure, since we are dealing in lum- 
ber, and this result is multiplied by the thickness in 
inches. 

Deductive Lesson. — A good deductive lesson pro- 
vides some problem for solution, the problem or 
principle being clearly stated at the beginning of the 
lesson. Any lesson which begins with definitions or 
the statement of rules before the work is taken up 
may be said to be very largely deductive. The old- 
fashioned grammar and arithmetic lesson will afford 
good examples. Even at the present time many of 
the textbooks in these subjects are prepared in this 
way and much, of the instruction so given. 

We will briefly state the most important features 
of the deductive lesson: The first thing to be done 
is to make a very careful statement of the definition, 
principle, or question which is the subject of study. 
The second thing to do is to collect sufficient data 
on which to base inferences for the study in con- 
nection with the principle. These data may be 
taken from the memory of the children, their ob- 
servations, the knowledge of the teacher, textbooks, 
reference-books, maps, charts, etc. After an adequate 
amount of data has been collected, and even during 
the collection, the lesson should be managed in such a 
way as to cause the pupils to try to relate such data 



142 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

to the principle under discussion. During this proc- 
cess many inferences or suppositions are made to try 
to discover the relation of the data to the general 
principle which we are seeking to prove. Such sup- 
positions are ordinarily called hypotheses. After all 
the data selected have been used to teach the principle 
and there is a good degree of appreciation of the 
principle, the step of verification may be used, in which 
the new fact acquired is tried out in many other 
similar situations, to test its mastery and to enlarge 
the student's fund of knowledge. 

The greatest value of the deductive lesson is that 
it offers a short-cut to general facts or ideas. It 
presupposes enough experience on the part of the 
learner to enable him to comprehend some new sub- 
ject matter, without having to go through in detail 
all of the ordinary experiences necessary to get it. 
It has the very definite limitation that insufficient 
experience on the part of the learner may make it 
almost useless as a method of instruction; for the 
reason that a pupil will be getting only words. From 
this observation it is quite clear that the deductive 
lesson must be used in the elementary school with 
great caution and discrimination. 

Many teachers will remember how they memorized 
definitions of land and water forms in geography, 
or how they were drilled on rules and definitions 
in percentage in arithmetic, and how grammar was 
taken up largely with learning definitions for the 
parts of speech and rules for the construction of sen- 
tences. On the whole, these were very uninteresting 
tasks; moreover, the performance of them did not 
insure any mastery of the subjects. The whole diffi- 
culty with such instruction was that the children 
did not have sufficient experience with these forms of 



INSTRUCTION 



143 



knowledge so that they could get them well by means 
of the deductive plan. 

The following lesson plan for an eighth-grade 
United States History class has been taught a number 
of times in the observation classes in our trammg- 
schools, Superintendent Crissman doing the teachmg: 

PLAN No. 2. 
Lesson Plan in Eighth Grade History. 



Mace's History of United States, pp. 294-299. 

First lesson on " The Growth of Sectional Feeling:' 

jv«.o- 1 Siibipotive (a) To dve class unprejudiced judgment 
abormenandmctsuTes. (b) To deepen patriotism. ^(0 Jo give 
power fo interpret history sanely, (d) To secure clear thinking and 
Organization of thought, (e) To interest the pupdsin the big hi^^^ 
toric problem— How the states grew to hate each other and to hght. 

2 ObjectTve. To have the class gain information on the slavery 
dispute show how it became a menace to the nation; show how the 
S questfon was related to the slavery question; show how the 
tariff quSn developed two theories of government; show how 
the South tried to carry out its theory and failed. 



Subject Matter. 
Middle paragraph, Sec. 289, 
in text. 



Interpretation of history by 
organization of text. 

1. Period of Discovery and Ex- 
ploration, 1492-1607. 

2. Period of Colonization, 1607- 

3. Period of Revolution, 1760 
(75)-1789. ^ ^ 

4 Period of National Growth, 

1789-1860. 
5. Period of Sectional Dispute 

and War, 1830-1865. 
I. Growth of Sectional Feeling. 

1. The root of the trouble- 
Slavery. 



Method. 
Relate the lesson to Washing- 
ton's birthday by remarking that 
our lesson today is largely a 
lesson on patriotism and calling 
attention to this being the natal 
day of him ''who was first in 
war," etc. Let us read a senti- 
ment from him. 

Class open books and see that 
we are just beginning the "period 
of Sectional Dispute and War. 
Then looking at table of contents 
and reading and fixing the four 
previous periods with dates, have 
class close books and give these. 
Or write on board. 

Show how the whole of the 
next 100 pp. will be devoted to 
this last topic— "Sectional Dis- 
pute and War." 

The first part is "Growth of 
Sectional Feehng." 
1 Develop outline about as fol- 
lows: 



144 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



Subject Matter. — {Continued). 

(a) How two systems of labor 
divided them. Profitable for 
one. Unprofitable for other. 

(b) How the tarifif divided 
them. 

Profitable for one. 
Unprofitable for other. 

(c) How the tariff developed 
two theories of government. 
The Calhoun tariff theory. The 
Webster theory. 



(d) How Calhoun tried to 
carry out his theory. 

(e) How Jackson broke down 
Calhoun's theory. 



II. Slavery before 1830. 

(1) Slavery compromises in 
Constitutional Convention. 

1. Counting slaves for repre- 
sentation and direct taxes. 

2. Importation of slaves. 

(2) Ordinance 1787. 



(3) Mo. Comp. 

1. Maine, free. 

2. Mo. slave. 

3. Line of 36:30. 

HI. The tariff of 1828. 

1. Tariff of 1816. 
Supporters, Calhoun & Clay. 
Opponent, Webster. 

2. Methods of Opposition. 



IV. Ky. and Va. 

Nullification. 
Authors. 



resolutions. 



Method. — (Continued) . 
Our problem today is to un- 
derstand how certain things con- 
tributed to "The Growth of 
Sectional Feeling," so we will 
really understand what caused 
the war. Let us put on the 
board our main topic. What is 
first Sec. in lesson about? (Booxs 
open.) Give me one word that 
will explain that. (Ans. — Slav- 
ery.) If slavery was the root of 
the trouble we must see how two 
systems of labor divided them. 
We must see how the tariff di- 
vided them. Class read heading 
to Sec. 278. We must see how 
two theories of government de- 
veloped. See Sec. 279. We must 
see how the South tried to carry 
out its theory and how Jackson 
prevented it. 

(Books Closed.) 

Now let's see how you can 
explain these things. 

We have said that the root of 
the trouble was slavery. Was 
this the first of this trouble? 
What were these two slavery 
compromises in the Constitu- 
tional Convention? 

Then there was the ordinance 
of 1787. Can anyone tell what 
that was? 

Then there was the Mo. Comp. 
Tell what it was. 

(Books Open.) 

This brings us down to 1830, 
when our advanced lesson begins. 
The question that came up now 
that aroused the passions of the 
two sections was the tariff. Why 
did the South begin to oppose 
and the North favor? Do you 
know how Calhoun and Webster 
stood on tariff of 1816? Why 
change? 

Since the South was now op- 
posed to the protective tariff, but 
majority favored it, how could a 



INSTRUCTION 



145 



Subject Matter.— (Continued). 
Correctness of theory? 

Calhoun and nullification. 



V. The Webster-Hayne debate. 

1. The Union a supreme gov- 
ernment.— Nullification impos- 
sible, equal to rebellion. 

2. The Union a compact,— 
nullification possible. 



VI. Jackson's attitude. 
The toast. 



VII. S. C— Nullification. 



Method. — (Continued) . 
state or states resist a law they 
believed harmful or unconstitu- 
tional? Sec. 293. 

Who developed these ideas and 
were they right or wrong? Why? 

Who now brought forward this 
doctrine of nulhfication? 

What was the Webster-Hayne 
debate about? Tell about it. 

Teacher give additional facts 
to enlist class and heighten inter- 

Read closing sentence of Web- 
ster's speech. 

What did President Jackson 
think of Calhoun's doctrines? 
Tell about the "toast." 

How did S. C. propose to han- 
dle the tariff of 1832? What did 
Jackson do? 

Now we will keep in mind that 

1 this was the first effort to break 

up the Union and how it came 

out. We will remember, too, that 

the South believed largely 

1. In nullification. 

2. The Union was a league- 
compact. 

States had rights equal to 
the Union. 
VTTT ^nmrnarv We will see how this comes up 

Read re?and discuss outhne again and again, till it is tried m 
on board of "Growth of Sec- 1861. 
tional Feeling." 

Drill Lesson. — In some quarters it is very un- 
fashionable to talk about the drill lesson; never- 
theless, in the chapter on ^Tsychological Factors to 
be Considered in Methods of Instruction," we tried 
to make it very plain that the drill lesson is important. 
The chief difficulty with the old drill lesson was that 
it was given only on the basis of effort. Drill has 



146 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

always been important and always will be, but its 
efficiency must be determined by the way in which 
it is given. There will always be many habits which 
cannot be established without intelligent drill, and 
we know how very necessary it is that we acquire 
right habits ; indeed, some teachers have maintained 
that habit formation is the whole of education. 

In the chapter on ^'Psychological Factors" con- 
siderable discussion was given to the topic of '^ In- 
dividual Differences." These individual differences 
are not the result so much of native capacities as they 
are differences in useful and necessary habit forma- 
tions. A good example may be taken from habits of 
reading. A school is known to the author in which 
the first grade, in one year, read through only one 
primer, and that very laboriously. In another school 
six primers were read, and in another fifteen primers 
and first readers were read in the same time. The 
explanation for the wide range of variety indicated 
by these facts is not to be found in the native ca- 
pacity of the children, but in the methods of in- 
struction used by the teachers. 

Only a few days since I observed an eighth-grade 
arithmetic class where, in the solving of a problem, 
only two results out of sixteen were correct, as the 
result of inaccuracies in simple multiplication or 
addition. I saw another fourth-grade class in which 
fourteen out of fifteen of the children made no mis- 
take in multiplication or addition. It is a require- 
ment in the latter school that third-grade children 
shall master the simple processes of addition and 
multiplication. In all probability, those eighth-grade 
children will labor all their lives under the handicap 
of inaccuracy in the very simplest arithmetical proc- 
esses, because they were not drilled at the proper 



INSTRUCTION 147 

time in habits of accuracy in making number com- 
binations. , . 1 

In order that the drill lesson may be of the most 
worth, the following elements should be noted: 

In every drill lesson the student should most 
definitely understand, by the assignment, what the 
fact, problem, or principle is on which the drill is to 

be made. 

The student should appreciate, as fully as possible, 
the values to be secured in the solution of the 
problem. 

After the task has been set the drill must begm 
and continue with active attention, or with the mind 
directed to the full measure of its capacity to the 
task. Small benefit comes from mere drilling, such 
as spelling over words a great many times or writing 
over lessons some number of times. This is only a 
repetition of words. 

The drill must be conducted in such a way that 
the one doing it shall demand, as nearly as possible, 
absolute accuracy of himself. Inaccuracies of any 
kind tend to suJbvert the whole scheme. The price 
of thoroughness must be paid by complete focaUza- 
tion of oneself on the effort. 

If some one or more of the important instinctive 
tendencies may be commanded to help in the drill 
this will add to the efficiency of the effort. Also, 
whenever possible, some immediate pleasure or satis- 
faction should accompany the successful effort. 

The time element is a considerable factor in any 
successful drill. For the beginner to practice on the 
piano for two hours at a time will not bring the 
desired results. Three or four short periods in which 
the order above noted is carefully observed will 
bring much better results. Long periods of time 



148 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

spent upon the multiplication table, or spelling les- 
sons, or an attempt to master the facts in history, 
will not yield satisfactory results. Short periods, 
with intense application, in which no distractions or 
exceptions are allowed, will secure very much better 
results. We do not know very much about what 
goes on in the mind during these rest periods, but 
we have learned enough to know that they are es- 
sential for the complete formation of habits. The 
necessity for the periods of intermission may be only 
Nature's way of protecting us against too rapid 
habit formations. This fact explains the so-called 
''slumps" of school teams in games where a large 
degree of co-operation is demanded, and it also 
explains the class ''slumps'' where, after drilling 
strenuously for several days on some important 
phase of a subject, some day the class comes up 
apparently knowing nothing. We should take heart 
in such cases, for, usually, in a day or two the class 
comes out all right, knowing a great deal. The 
minds of the students have been taking a rest, 
in which apparently some assimilation has been 
going on. 

The drill lesson is primarily to put some important 
habit as far over into the automatic stage as is pos- 
sible. By this we mean only that we can do the 
act so easily that we do not have to think about it 
very much, if at all. The product of six times six 
should "snap off" when we need it without requir- 
ing us to think about it, and we should be able to 
vspell the ordinary words of writing and recognize 
our reading vocabulary without giving them any 
considerable attention. 

The following is a lesson plan for fourth-grade 
arithmetic, which has been used in the Missouri 



INSTRUCTION 149 

State Normal School at Warrensburg, with consider- 
able success. It is in a large measure a drill lesson. 

PLAN No. 3. 

Lesson by Miss Edith L. Perkins. 

Fourth-Grade Arithmetic. 

I. Aim: (1) Drill for accuracy and speed in four fundamental 
operations. (Multiplication.) 

(2) Teach first step in Long Division. 
II. Means of securing first aim: 
A game played with bean-bag. Teacher throws bag to child, at 
same time pronouncing problem, e.g., 6x7, and child announces 
immediate result. If unable to do so child returns bag to teacher 
and teacher tosses it to another. If child can answer he tosses 
bag back to teacher and she gives new problem in same way to 
another pupil. 

Values: 1. Game interest. 

2. Better circulation, 

3. Excitement stimulates learning. 

4. Failure more disappointing, thus holds children to 
best endeavor. 

5. Law of effect applies forcibly. 
III. Preparation for work of second aim: 

1. The drill on multiplication (same above). 

2. Making children prove results in short division, thus: 3: 331 

:993 
How do you know that 9 contains 3 three times? Answer : Because 
3x3 equals 9. Several problems worked out that way. — 2 : 

: 4S(> 

and2j 

: 532. 



3. Teaching the terms divisor, dividend, quotient (Math. Language.) 
Special values of this. 

(a) Gives children a basis for explaining work. 

(b) Produces accuracy of thought. 

(c) Teaches a fundamental concept. 

How did teacher accomplish second aim, viz., teach first process 
of Long Division? 

1. Explain that we have another way of doing the same thing, 
as by short division. It is jv^t the same, only we put down all we think. 

2. Review definition of terms. Get good generalizations of divisor, 
dividend, and quotient. (Write quotient on board.) Point out (appli- 
cation) these parts to problems. Children name (drill) these parts 
and find them in problems. 

3. Teacher go tlirough process first herself. 

4. Teacher direct class in going through process. 

5. Teacher send class to board to go through process. 



150 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Discuss the merits and demerits of the textbook sys- 
tem of instruction. 

2. What advantages and disadvantages are there in 
using the lecture method in teaching? 

3. Discuss the values and limitations of development 
lessons. 

4. Make a good inductive lesson plan in nature study 
for the first grade; in arithmetic for the first grade. 

5. Plan an inductive development lesson in geography 
for the fourth grade. 

6. Plan a deductive development lesson in grammar for 
the eighth grade. 

7. What are the values of the drill lesson? 

8. State the points to be observed in a drill lesson. 

9. Plan two lessons in such a way as to secure these 
results. 

10. Point out some improper uses of drill. 

11. Study the subject of habit formation, selecting a 
special case in your own experience. 

12. What is meant by automatization? Name some 
things that should be automatized. 

READINGS. 

Charters: Methods of Teaching, Chap. XIX. XXV. 
Klapper : Principles of Educational Practice. 
McMurry: Method of the Recitation. 
Parker: Methods of Teaching in High Schools, Chap. X. 

XVI. 
Stray er: A Brief Course in the Teaching Process, Chap. 

IV.-X. 
Thorndike: Principles of Teaching, Chap. X. 



CHAPTER XIII. 

INSTRUCTION (Continued), 

The Study Lesson. — One of the severest criticisms 
of the modern graded school is that the child is not 
taught to study in school, but is only assigned les- 
sons which must be learned by himself in school, or 
else the books are taken home in order that the lessons 
may be learned in the afternoon or evening, alone or 
under the guidance or supervision of some other 
child, or the father or the mother. Recently the au- 
thor had a strenuous complaint from a mother, who 
said that she had to give at least two hours a day 
trying to instruct her seven-year-old son. This 
seven-year-old boy is unusually bright in every way, 
yet, in order to keep up with his school work, he is 
required to spend two hours per day attempting to 
study at home, with his mother as his teacher. As a 
matter of fact, such a young pupil should have no 
home study at all, if the school does its work properly. 
Of course, if the school is only a place for '^saying 
lessons back to the teacher'' or '^reciting" them, the 
study must be done elsewhere. 

I realize that there are a great many difficulties in 
connection with this problem, no matter whether the 
child attends a well-graded village or city school or a 
rural school. The city teacher may have two grades, 
or two sections of the same grade, in which case the 
sections or grades are heard alternately, thus giving 
little or no time for supervised study. The case in 
the rural school is more difficult, for the reason that 



152 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the teacher may have to put all eight grades through 
recitations. When the work is thoroughly organized, 
if all the grades are full, the very best organization 
that can be made is in four divisions, with from 
eighteen to twenty-four recitations. Such a case 
offers a very real problem in recitations alone, to 
say nothing about a study lesson or supervised study. 

Under present conditions it does not seem possible 
to make home study very valuable, for the reason 
that home conditions are not favorable to study. 
There is no special room or apparatus for it and there 
is no good helper, because parents are not ordinarily 
acquainted with present-day methods well enough 
to be of material assistance. Very often a crisis is 
precipitated by the youngster when he comes to a 
place in his study where he cannot do the work. If 
the parent helps him and the work is taken to school 
with a poor understanding on the pupil's part, he 
gets into trouble for ^^ copying,'' and the parent is 
displeased, because apparently some time was wasted 
to no purpose. 

Supervised Study. — All of these facts force us to 
the conclusion that some form or other of supervised 
study, done at school, under the direction of the 
teacher, is necessary for the best results. In a recent 
book by Professor Parker ^ will be found the best 
discussion in print on ^'Supervised Study." While 
much of the material of the chapter relates directly 
to supervised study in high school, much of it applies 
with equal force and value to the question of study 
in the elementary schools. 

Attempts to Solve the Problem. — Various schemes 
and plans have been devised to help out the situation. 
Among the more important are the following: 

1 Parker: Methods of Teaching in High Schools, Chap. XVI. 



INSTRUCTION 153 

1. The Monitorial System. — Some years ago it was 
the fashion for some of the more advanced and com- 
petent older students to teach the beginners in read- 
ing, spelUng, and number work. The author re- 
members, with a good deal of interest and pleasure, 
how a big twenty-year-old husky boy tried to teach 
him and, as a result, became a big brother to him. 
This was his first school, and because of the large 
number of students it was necessary for the teacher 
to '^farm out" some of the work. Even though the 
seat didn't fit him, the author had the pleasure of 
sitting with that big boy, during school hours, who 
became his all-round protector and adviser. Pos- 
sibly it was very good for both of us. Twenty or 
thirty years ago this was a common situation in the 
rural schools. 

In most of the rural schools at present we do not 
have too many pupils, but we have so many recita- 
tions (because of the increased number of subjects 
poorly organized) that we have practically the same 
situation. One teacher cannot do all the work. 
It probably would not do to go back to the old 
monitorial scheme, but it does seem that some good, 
bright, eighth-grade pupils of maturity might help 
the children in the primary grades to work in draw- 
ing, manual training, spelling, music, nature study, 
numbers, and even in reading. Undoubtedly a skillful 
teacher could supervise much of this work in such 
a way as to get very good results and save a great 
deal of time. Moreover, it seems certain that the 
social values involved in such experiences are worth 
while for all concerned, and the plan, when really 
understood and administered, is much better than 
most home study and unorganized study between 
recitations. 



154 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

2. The ^'Batavia System.^ ^ — Bagley^ briefly de- 
scribes the ^'Batavia System," which was originated 
by Superintendent John Kennedy, of the pubhc 
school at Batavia, New York. It has been urged 
in favor of this scheme that it provides for individual 
instruction by competent teachers and, in this way, 
the backward pupil is provided with the necessary 
special help to bring him up to grade. It virtually 
means supervised study. Of course, there is one 
danger to be guarded against, namely, that too much 
supervision and instruction tends to make a poor 
student out of the child, because too much has been 
done for him. It is difficult to see how very much 
of this scheme can be applied to a one-room rural 
school, but undoubtedly something can be done by 
the student helper, as indicated above, and by 
judicious alternation. In regard to the applicability 
of the ^'Batavia System'^ to general school situations. 
Professor Bagley says : ^ 

"To apply the Batavia system to the work of any school, it 
is necessary to take but two steps: (1) provide definite periods 
for individual instruction; (2) impart individual instruction 
according to the principles named above. On the surface, the 
first condition may perhaps seem the more difficult of fulfillment; 
as a matter of fact, it is by far the simpler of the two. Contrary 
to general belief, the Batavia system does not demand the pres- 
ence of two teachers in every classroom. The general method 
can be applied in one-teacher rooms, and is so applied in more 
than half of the Batavia classrooms." 

c 

3. Special Teachers for Backward Children. — In 
a well-organized city system, or even in a good town 
system, it is not unusual for a special teacher to be 

* Bagley: Classroom Management, p. 216. ' Ibid. 



INSTRUCTION 155 

provided to take care of the interests of backward 
children. Recently a single teacher was selected to 
have charge of the backward children in three ele- 
mentary schools of a city system. The woman was 
one of unusual ability and she had turned over to 
her for the purpose of instruction, about seventy- 
fivJ children that had been reported as "failures 
and -near-failures" by their teachers. Under her 
supervision and special instruction, sixty out of the 
seventy-five were promoted at the regulax promo- 
tion time,— about as high a percent of promotions 
as were made in the whole school system. 

Typical Study Lessons.— The following lesson plan 
was used by Superintendent Crissman m his obser- 
vation class, immediately after a visit of Professor 
Findley of the Department of Education in the Uni- 
versity of Manchester, England. In a large measure 
the lesson is a typical -study" lesson. 

PLAN No. 4. 
Demonstration Lesson.— Composition in Letter Writing. 
Real letter to Doctor Findley, Department of Education, 
University of Manchester, England. 

"^'obiective— To acquire new vocabulary and new apt Phrases 

To gifn some knowledge of social ^orms and something about 
English schools (correlated with geography and history). 
Subjective.— To develop thought power. 

To develop larger interest m the people of the world. 
To develop skill in expression. 
To learn the art of pleasing others. 

^' O^Trevious day tell class that we are going.to plan a novel and 
interesting letter for our lesson tomorrow. Give them some idea 
S'gTerKs as stated above. Say that t^e mterests ^^^^^ 
of life should be the interests and problems oi the school ^e these 
aims dealing with the interests and problems of life/ io-morrow i 
wTnt the cfas^ to know the forms of a letter such as are found m 
the text on page-. Then turn to your geography and read the 
DaL Then get article on Manchester and Enghsh schools. Then 
^reidrJ^n Brown at Rugby, and Dr. Arnold. (For character of Eng- 
lish cities, see Carpenter, Stoddard.) 



156 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

II. Presentation: 

1. What two kinds of letters? 

2. To whom do we write? 

3. In writing letters what are some of our aims? 

To please other people. 

To get pleasm-e. 

To acquire skill in composition. 

4. What are the parts of the letter? 
Introduction: 

5. We asked you to think of some good salutations. Remember 
our aims. 

6. (a) Dear Friend: (Boy). 

(b) Dear little Friend: 

(c) Dear little English friend : 

(d) Dear unknown Friend : 

(e) Dear : 

(f) Dear little English Cousin: 

II. a. Shall we have any introduction? Long or short? Character. 
Our aims. 

1. How would a question do? 

Would you like to get a letter from a little school girl in the 
United States? Did you ever hear of Missouri, or St. Louis, or 
Kansas City? I know you never heard of Warrensburg and 
I suppose you don't know what a State Normal School is. 
Well, I'm a student in the seventh grade (you call it form in 
England, I think), in the Model School of our State Normal. 
Doctor Findley can explain to you what our school is like, for 
he visited us and told us we could write letters to you. 

2. If we start off with a statement it ought to be appropriate: 

When Doctor Findley was here he told us so many interesting 
things about his school that Professor Crissman, our Super- 
intendent, said, "I have often thought it would be most inter- 
esting to receive a letter from some far-away country," so 
when 

I have tried to think what you might be interested in. 

b. The main body of letter. — What shall we write about? See 
below. Remember aim. 

To please others. 

Freshness, interest. Not commonplace. 

Wit or humor. 

Fit letter to understanding of recipient. 

c. Closing remarks : 

May we have the pleasure of a letter from you? 

We should like so much to have a letter from you sometime 
and hope you will favor us. 

If I could have a letter from a school boy or girl in England 
we would all enjoy it so much. 



Topics Interesting to Write About. 
The European war and what side we sympathize with. 
The prospective trans-ocean flight of the "America." 
Books we use, cost, furnishing. 



INSTRUCTION 



157 



Our people. — Negroes, Indians, Mexicans, Italians. 

Our schools. — Boys and girls educated together. Co-educational 
schools. 

Our cUmate and location. — Sea and rivers. — St. Louis and Kansas 
City. 

Our amusements. 

The training-school. 

Our studies and readings. 

Our houses and yards and "dummy" automobiles. 

Things we are proud of in our country and in yours. 

Our history and yours. — Kings, lords, presidents, etc. 

The Irish trouble. 

Who teach school here. 



d. Cautions: 

Margin, capitals, periods, when begin and when end? Para- 
graph, and organization of paragraphs. Spacing between sentences. 

e. Summary: 
Aims. 

The following is a study lesson plan of Miss 
Hanes, offered some time ago in a Principles-of- 
Teaching class in m}^ Department. It illustrates to 
some extent a study lesson, though it is not offered 
as a perfect one. 

PLAN No. 5. 

Geography for Seventh Grade. 

North America g,nd its relation to other continents. 

Teacher's Aim: To make the children conscious of the best 
method to be emploj^ed in logical thinking and to help them form 
the foundation for habits. 

Pupils' Aim: 

1. To learn how to study a lesson. 

2. To know what points to study in finding the relation of 
one country to another. 

3. To know where to get his information and how. 



I. Position in hemispheres. 

1. Zones. 

2. Latitude and Longi- 
tude. 

3. Relation to other con- 
tinents in nearness. 



Secure data from geography 
textbooks, maps, and globes. 

Compare difference in degrees 
of latitude and longitude of one 
continent or more with North 
America. 

Compare distances from North 
America to other continents. 

Teacher must give data that 
cannot be gotten elsewhere. 



158 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



11. Size. 

1. Absolute. 

2. Relative. 

III. Outline. 

1. General. 

2. More definite. 

IV. Surface. 



V. Climate. 



VI. 



Life. 

1. Plant. 

2. Animal. 



In making comparisons, etc., 
pupil must have practice in using 
index and table of contents of a 
book. 

If more can be gotten from les- 
son by the children working to- 
gether, let them do so. 

The best time to make an as- 
signment is when, as a subject is 
developed, a problem arises which 
cannot then be solved. This 
gives interest and an end to be 
sought. 

Teachers should ask frequently 
for a statement of the problem to 
be solved. 

At every step in the progress of 
the pupil's thought he must test 
his conclusions by referring to 
known facts. For instance, he 
finds certain plant life existing in 
the western part of North Amer- 
ica. Then he must apply the 
tests to show how the climate 
permits the growth of the plants. 

Child must learn to keep a bib- 
liography and also take notes 
when studying, to learn to write 
in a very few words the gist of a 
paragraph or page. Must learn 
to discriminate between what will 
be of value to him and what will 
not. 

Compare with other countries. 
Learn why they are the largest 
cities and their location. 

Work must be organized. Has 
the climate affected the occupa- 
tions in any way? How? 

Do the connections by water- 
ways have anything to do with 
the commerce of two continents? 

What is domestic commerce? 

Foreign? 

The Testing Lesson. — We have already pointed 
out that the recitation is perhaps the most important 
school exercise. In this exercise we are continually 
testing the pupil's knowledge, trying to have him 
discover values of subject matter, and we are con- 



VII. Resources. 

1. Fur-bearing animals. 

2. Fertile soil. 

3. Minerals. 

4. Forests. 

5. Fisheries. 



VIII. Political Divisions. 

1. Capitals of each. 

2. Largest cities. 
IX. Productions. 

1. Occupations of people. 

2. Agriculture. 

3. Manufacture. 
X. Commerce. 

1. Domestic. 

2. Foreign. 



INSTRUCTION 159 

tinually trying to measure the thoroughness with 
which this knowledge has been assimilated. There- 
fore, in a very large measure it is true that any 
lesson is more or less of a testing process. 

The most common form of the testing is that re- 
quirement which demands of the pupil oral expres- 
sion of the ideas which have been mastered. There 
are also written tests, which may be required weekly, 
monthly, or at the end of terms; but it should be 
borne in mind that when the questions or topics are 
handled so as to provide for consecutive composition, 
the ordinary oral work is probably much more im- 
portant than the written work. No more valuable 
habit can be formed than that of thinking accurately, 
quickly, and connectedly in the presence of our fel- 
lows. The oral test on composition in ordinary 
class work provides an ideal opportunity for the for- 
mation of this habit. In all classes we have the limi- 
tation that it is not possible for all members to have 
this opportunity every day, but a skillful teacher 
can use the method in such a way as to provide some 
experience each day for all the members of an ordi- 
nary class. By reviews and special assignments, in 
a more important way, the teacher should endeavor 
to catch each of its members at least once a week. 

Children in rural schools especially need to be 
required to make considerable effort at oral expres- 
sion, for the reason that their ability to express them- 
selves usually falls far behind their experiences. 
The school should make a conscientious effort to 
provide for this needful balancing between experi- 
ence and thinking on the one hand and suitable 
expression on the other. The average town and 
city youngster is ordinarily more capable of ex- 
pressing his experiences and ideas than the country 



160 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

child. This is not because he actually knows more, 
but because he has lived in a better situation for 
acquiring facility of expression. 

The elementary-school teacher should take the 
foregoing facts into account fully in dealing with 
language-training. Written work requires too much 
time to permit of its assignment as a daily task, but 
it may be used as a medium for weekly and term 
exercises, to help to determine the degree of mastery 
acquired over the subjects studied. It should be 
recall'ed, however, that ability to write and ability 
to speak or talk are not based on the same habit 
formations. We must be trained in such a way as 
to set up the appropriate habits for each. Therefore 
we should not urge written work on the assumption 
that it is so very valuable in helping us to secure oral 
expression in composition work. 

We should always make sure that the child has 
something that he wants to say, before we insist on 
much oral or written work. And we should re- 
member that the technique of writing is acquired 
much more slowly than that of speaking. We have 
all been the victims of written examinations, and been 
requested to hand in formal compositions when we 
had nothing to say. 

It has been urged that one of the most valuable 
things about a written test is that it provides equal 
opportunity for expression; and that it is a fair test, 
because all the children are expected to do the same 
task. This is not the case. If we were training 
parrots the reasoning would be good, but we want 
to instruct children so as to allow for a degree of 
individuality. Instead of being entirely fair and 
just, the written test may be full of unfairness and 
injustice. In fact, the only entirely fair written 



INSTRUCTION 161 

test is the one which offers opportunities to the child 
to write on all the subject matter which has been 
taught in the lessons of the day, the lessons of the 
week or term. This should include supplementary 
work as well, because we are never altogether sure 
what the reaction of the child has been to these 
various phases of the work. Moreover, the written 
test cannot possibly take into account all ot the 
previous experiences of the members of the class. 

All of this does not mean that the author is op- 
posed, unalterably, to written work and especmlly 
to written examinations, but it does mean that the 
written work, as it is being conducted m many 
schools, is a mere form, through which we put the 
children, and is therefore uninteresting and possesses 
relatively small educational value. In both oral and 
written testing we should keep in mind that each 
should enable the teacher to determine whether or 
not the vital things of the curriculum have been 
assimilated by the child in such a way as to insure 
a correct appreciation of the values of that material, 
and that there- is an adequate motivation so that 
these values will finally function in conduct and 
character. . , 

Another useful way to test the ability of children 
is to assign them special papers, on particular topics, 
to be written and read by the class and to be dis- 
cussed orally before the class. These have large 
possibilities and a wise teacher, through them, may 
bring richness to the recitation and provide a means 
for securing suitable tasks on the basis of individual 
differences and, at the same time, develop a large 
measure of personal responsibility. 

Such work as this is done on the highest motive, 
namely, that the child is mastering the material 



162 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

in order that it may be presented to his fellows. One 
of the very bad situations from a general class as- 
signment is that the lesson is learned too commonly 
on the sole basis of emulation, or to ^'beat" the other 
fellow. We have all witnessed a reading-class in 
which a good reader took rather fiendish delight in 
reading the lesson in such a way as to outdo all the 
other members of the class. As the pupil sat down 
after the performance, he looked around and, by 
his attitude, seemed to say: ^'I simply dare any of 
you to approximate that effort.'' This is a morally 
bad situation and may be remedied by having in- 
dividual assignments in the reading lesson made in 
such a way that the ideas to be presented are the 
important things and not the outdoing of some other 
members of the class. 

In all teaching and testing we must not forget the 
fact that the securing of personal and social power 
is a more important thing than the accumulation of 
a large number of facts, which any scheme of testing 
may unduly emphasize, unless guarded. 

The writer does not think it is important to pre- 
sent plans primarily for the purpose of showing how 
to test students. Lesson Plan No. 1, under Inductive 
Lesson, involves some of the more important features 
of testing as well as induction. In another place the 
art of questioning has been considered at some length 
and, as indicated at the beginning of the discussion, 
it is so much a phase of every recitation that it does 
not seem important to offer at this place any special 
lesson plans. 

The Lesson for Appreciation. — One other lesson 
form has come recently to have a place in formal in- 
struction, namely, the lesson for appreciation. No 
doubt appreciation, in many of its phases, has always 



INSTRUCTION 163 

been an important consideration in the various forms 
of instruction, and this factor of course is present in 
other types of lessons. It seems to have come to 
occupy a more formal place now than heretofore, 
because we desire to emphasize the aesthetic element 
in education. The literature on this lesson form is 
scanty. Stray er^ gives a very good discussion of it. 
Likewise, Parker^ treats the problem on the ground 
that the school should prepare us for the enjoyment 
of our leisure. The author has discussed the prob- 
lem at considerable length in his chapter on ^'Play 
and Recreation." Unquestionably, American schools 
should do much more to prepare us to appreciate 
in nature, music, and art, all of those finer things 
necessary for the highest valuation of human rela- 
tionships. The whole point of view of this book is 
that of having the school organized and administered 
in such a way as to make us capable of appreciating 
and adding to the finest achievements of the race, in 
order that we may be united and efficient workers 
in our present complex society. 

The following lesson plan is used in the eighth 
grade by one of the supervisors in our training- 
school, primarily for appreciation: 

PLAN No. 6. 

Teaching of the poem ''Absalom." 

~(N. P. Willis.) 
Class: Eighth Grade. Third Quarter. 

Teacher^s principal aims: 

1. To lead to the enjoyment of a superior piece of hterature. 

2. To read the well-known story in poetic form. 

3. To master the mechanics of reading, so as to read the poem 
with expression and understanding. 

4. To appreciate the great moral idea of the poem. 

* Strayer: A Brief Course in the Teaching Process, Chap. VII. 
Parker: Methods of Teaching in High School, Chap. X. 



164 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION. 



Subject Matter. 



The poem — 
"Absalom/ 
The author. 



The setting. 

Biblical — historical. 



Setting — 

Geographical. 



The story of the poem. 



Structure of the poem. 



Second reading for apprecia- 
tion. 



Method of Procedure. 

Recitation. 

The author — 

Nathaniel Parker Willis. 

Wrote for The Youth's Com- 
panion, which was founded by 
his father. Hence he has con- 
tributed to the enjoyment and 
education of many school boys 
and girls. 

This poem is probably his mas- 
terpiece, i.e., his finest poem. 



The poem is founded upon the 
story found in 2d Samuel, xviii. 
(Story briefly told. — Five sen- 
tences.) Absalom's rebcUion 
and death. 

Map of Palestine. This can be 
found in any Teacher's Bible. 

Locate the River Jordan, Jeru- 
salem. Locate, if possible, the 
wood of Ephraim, where Absalom 
was killed. 

Read aloud the poem, stanza 
by stanza. 

There are no words whose pro- 
nunciation should be difficult. 



Note the parts. — 

First thirteen lines are intro- 
duction. 

From the thirteenth to the 
forty-third the lines are related 
to the events preceding the battle. 

The remainder give the events 
following the battle. 



Read aloud the introduction. 
What is the picture presented to 
you? Note the words and 
phrases most happily chosen for 
presenting this picture. 

What is "Night's silvery veil"? 
Meaning of sentence, "The wil- 
low's leaves," etc.? 

Read aloud again in the hght of 
the discussions and make U3 feel 



INSTRUCTION 



165 



Subject Matter. — {Continued) . 



(Continuing) Second reading 
for appreciation. 



Reading of Lamentation. 



Structure. 

Reading the conclusion. 



Selected passages to be read. 
Written work. 



Method of Procedure. — (Continued). 
the calm and peace of natm-e as 
here described. 
6. 

Read aloud to line 26. What 
is told you? 

Note lines 26 to 31. How do 
they differ from what precedes 
and follows? 
c. 

Read aloud lines 22 to 41, omit- 
ting 26 to 31. Is there any break 
in thought? 

What then is the value of lines 
26 to 31? 
d. 

Read aloud 42 to 60. What is 
told you? Read remainder of the 
page, or to line 71. What is told? 

Note the custom of the people 
as given here. 
e. 

Read again, aloud, stanza by 
stanza, King David's Lamenta- 
tion. 

Why does he refer to Absalom 
as *'My proud boy" — "My lost 
boy"? 

What is the cause of the ex- 
treme grief? 

Read aloud the conclusion. 

What shows the character of 
David to be such as became the 
character of a king? 

Note the satisfying way the 
poem closes. What expressions 
make the closing seem so fitting? 



Assignment. 

Bring to class tomorrow the 
lines or stanzas you think are 
best. 

Be prepared to read these aloud 
to the class. 

Bring written in your own way 
the introduction to the poem. 

Have it ready to read well 
aloud. 



The following is a lesson plan for the appreciation 
of a beautiful picture, submitted by Miss Goss in a 



166 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



recent class in the Principles of Teaching in the State 
Normal School at Warrensburg, Missouri. 



PLAN No. 7. 

Lesson for Appreciation. Eighth Grade. 

Study of "Spring," by Anton Mauve. 

Teacher's Aim: To develop appreciation of good composition. 

Pupils' Aim: To discover what is the center of interest in the 
picture and why the other objects are placed as they are. 

Materials: Picture "Spring," by Anton Mauve, in the hand of 
each pupil; large picture in front of the room, where all can see; 
sketches of different spacings of the picture; blank paper. 



Subject Matter. 
I. Getting the problem before 
the pupils. 



II. The picture itself. 

Center of interest — 
Sheep. 



To the right of the center of 
the picture; to the left of the 
great mass of sheep. 



Method. 
Let us look at this picture 
called "Spring," painted by the 
Dutch artist, Anton Mauve. 
What is the first thing you no- 
tice when you look at this pic- 
ture? Do you suppose the artist 
intended that we should notice 
the sheep first? Why do you 
think so? Let us see if we can 
discover what it is Mauve wants 
us to be the most interested in. 
Where are the sheep placed in the 
picture? About how much of the 
picture space do they occupy? 
Notice the figure of the shepherd. 
He is rather a prominent figure 
with the shepherd's crook. Do 
you think the artist wants us to 
be more interested in him than 
in the sheep? Why do you think 
so? Let us consider his position 
in the picture. Where is his fig- 
ure placed in relation to the 
sheep? Let us take two pieces 
of blank paper. Place one just 
below the feet of the dog — the 
other just above the shepherd's 
cap. Now, look at the picture. 
Which demands your attention 
first, the sheep, the shepherd, or 
the dog? Which next? Which 
last? Why is it the dog attracts 
the least notice? Then if the 
artist had wanted our interest to 



INSTRUCTION 



167 



Subject Matter. — (Contimied). 



Sky, meadow, trees. 



Subordination of detail. 



Center of interest. 



III. Placing. 

1. Why the artist has placed 
everything as he has. 



Row of trees running back in- 
to the picture. 



Method. — {Continued) . 
center in the shepherd how would 
he have placed his figure in the 
picture? 

What besides these figures do 
you see in the pictiure? Do they 
cause you to divide your atten- 
tion between them and the sheep? 
Why is it that they don't? What 
then do we find to be the center 
of interest? And in order to 
make us look at the sheep, what 
has Mauve done to everything 
else in the picture? We call this 
subordination. (Write word on 
board.) And what else must we 
have in a picture besides subor- 
dination? 

Let us notice the sky and 
meadow. Which occupies the 
greater space? How else might 
the sky and meadow space have 
been divided? Let us see how we 
would like to have the space di- 
vision of the sky and the meadow 
just the same. (Teacher shows 
a sketch with such a division.) 
Do you like this better? What is 
there about it that doesn't satisfy 
us? Suppose we try having more 
sky than meadow. (Teacher 
shows a sketch so spaced.) What 
is the center of interest now? 
Do the sheep hold our attention 
now as they did before ? Why ? 
In order to have them the center 
of interest in this picture, what 
would we have to do? Just see 
how carefully each thing has been 
thought out. 

Compare the height of the trees 
behind the shepherd with the 
height of the grass behind the 
shepherd. What do you find? 
Why did an artist ever do such 
a thing as to paint grass taller 
than trees? In order to make ob- 
jects appear near to one how are 
they painted?^ When far away? 
Do you notice anything else 
which makes us feel distance? 
Suppose the row of trees had been 
placed across the page? Would 



168 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



Subject Matter. — {Continued). 



IV. Balance. 

1. Light and dark. 

2. Masses and spaces. 



The great space on the oppo- 
site side. 

Dark shadow balances light of 
sheep; dog balances two sheep 
in front of him. 



V. Summary. 

1. Must have center of inter- 
est. 

2. Subordination of detail. 

3. Space broken up into pleas- 
ing relations. 

4. Balance of Hght and dark; 
lines and spaces. 



VL Assignment 



Method. — (Continued) . 
we still have felt distance? Let 
us see if this is so. (Teacher 
sketches trees as indicated.) This 
doesn't seem so good. We feel 
that the artist knew best. 

How many of you ever played 
on a see-saw? (Have a pupil ex- 
plain.) How do you manage to 
preserve the balance when you 
have a small child on one end of 
the board and a large child on the 
opposite end? This same princi- 
ple of balance must be observed 
in painting. 

In the picture why is it that 
the artist can put the sheep, the 
shepherd, and the row of larger 
trees more to one side and still 
not have the picture seem side- 
ways? What is it that keeps the 
balance of the whole? What dark 
mass balances the light mass of 
the sheep? Does the dog seem to 
balance any particular mass of 
Hght? 

In looking at a picture what is 
the first thing we want to notice? 
If there is not one particular 
thing to hold the attention and to 
keep the eyes from wandering 
from one object to another object 
in the picture what can we say 
about the picture? What besides 
a center of interest must we have? 

For tomorrow take the pic- 
ture "The Gleaners," by Millet. 
Tell what is the center of inter- 
est, what objects are subordi- 
nated to this center of interest, 
and how are the different objects 
balanced ? 



The following is a lesson for the appreciation of 
music, offered in a class in the Principles of Teaching 
in the State Normal School at Warrensburg, Mis- 
souri, by Miss Cockrell. The plan is one of special 
interest, because it opens up immense possibilities 
in the appreciation of good music. 



INSTRUCTION 



169 



PLAN No. 8. 

Seventh or Eighth Grade. 

Subject: The "Humoresque," by Anton Dvorak. Presented by 
means of a Victrola record, played by Fritz Kreisler. , 

Teacher's Aim: To help the pupils understand and appreciate 
this piece of music, and to lead them to a better understanding and 
appreciation of music in general. 

Pupil's Aim: To enjoy the "Humoresquc. 



Subject Matter. 



The form of the selection. It 
has three main divisions: of 
these the first has three sub- 
divisions; the third has two sub- 
divisions. The second is com- 
plete in itself. Of these sub- 
divisions, the first and third, in 
the first part, are identical, ex- 
cept for the cadence. In the 
third part, the first subdivision 
corresponds to the third sub- 
division of the first part. These 
are exactly alike. The second 
subdivision of the third part is 
identical, except for the cadence, 
with the second subdivision of 
the first part. The second main 
part is totally unlike either of 
the other parts. Thus we have, 
on the whole, a three-part form, 
the first and third parts of which 
are alike while the second part 
is contrasted. 



Character of the selection: 

The first section, or subdivi- 
sion, is very light and fantastic 
in character. The second sub- 
division is in contrast to this, 
rather plaintive, although equal- 
ly light. The third subdivision 
is a repetition of the first. 

In the second main part, the 



Method of Presentation. 

Tell the class, briefly, what the 
piece is, who ^^Tote it, and by 
whom it is played. Then play 
the record over. 

Have them write down the fol- 
lowing questions: How many 
main divisions has this piece? 
Are they of equal length? How 
many subdivisions? Is any sub- 
division repeated exactly? Which 
one? Are anv repeated almost 
exactly? Which ones? What is 
the variation? 

Can you answer any of these 
questions? If so, which ones? 
and how would you answer them? 
(Play the piece again. Take up 
the questions in order, working 
out the diagram as questions are 
answered.) 



J_ _ 

:1 :2 :3 



_3_ 

1 :2 



(The above diagram should be 
worked out on the board, using 
colored chalk to indicate the cor- 
responding sections, where I have 
used Unes under the numbers.) 

Why are some of the sections 
repeated? Would you hke it bet- 
ter if there were no repetition, 
and every section were totally 
different? Why not? 

What is the character of the 
first subdivision? (Explain what 
is meant by "character.") Of 
the second? What is the differ- 
ence between the two? Charac- 
ter of the third subdivision? Is 
it exactly hke any other? Is 



170 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



Subject Matter. — (Continued). 
character of the piece changes 
entirely, being not only much 
heavier, but sad and mournful in 
tone. This effect is accomplish- 
ed partly by a modulation into a 
minor key. This part of the se- 
lection is mainly harmonic, 
whereas the first and last parts 
are almost entirely melodic. 

The third part is very much 
like the first, except that the sec- 
ond subdivision differs slightly 
in character from its correspond- 
ing subdivision in the first part, 
being rather slower and more 
plaintive in character. 



Interpretation: Kreisler's in- 
terpretation is, of course, practi- 
cally perfect. Among the nota- 
ble features are the delicacy of 
touch in the first and third parts, 
the skill with which the orna- 
mentation is handled, and the 
complete change of treatment 
in the second part, where the 
passages are heavier in charac- 
ter. The tone seems almost to 
come from a different instru- 
ment. 



Summary: The three points 
to be emphasized in this piece 
are its form, its character, and its 
interpretation. 



Method of Presentation. — (Con.). 
there any contrast between these 
divisions? Do you like the piece 
better because of this contrast? 
What is the character of the sec- 
ond main part? Is it like any- 
thing that has gone before? In 
what way is it different? Would 
you like the selection better with- 
out this part? The piece is called 
a ''Humoresque;" does the ad- 
dition of a serious part make this 
name unsuitable? Why? or Why 
not? What is the character of 
the third main part? What other 
part does it resemble? Is the 
last subdivision like anything 
that has gone before? Are they 
exactly alike? Why not? 

Do you think that this selection 
is well played? Do you think it 
could be improved upon? How 
many have ever tried to play a 
violin? Is it easy or difficult? 
Do you believe that if you 
should practice and study you 
would ever be able to play like 
that? What parts of the selec- 
tion do you think would be hard- 
est to play? Why? Is there any 
difference in the quality of tone 
throughout the piece? Do you 
think the difference would be 
easy to obtain? 

Do you like this piece? Why? 
What are its main points of 
beauty? I will play it over once 
more and let you see if you enjoy 
it more after having had it ex- 
plained. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Enumerate and value the arguments for and against 
home study. 

2. Recall cases of wasted time in your own experience 
because of poor lesson assignments. 

3. What is meant by a study lesson? How should the 
study lesson in school be managed? 



INSTRUCTION 171 

4. How may the ** study recitation" be conducted? 

5. Name and value the ways of testing the knowledge 
of children. 

6. Can we value or test habits formed in school? How? 

7. What are the objections to a reading assignment 
which is the same for all children of the class? 

8. When is an examination fair? 

9. Why is the country boy or girl usually unable to 
make good oral or written compositions? 

10. Why are many city children incapable of assuming 
responsibility? 

11. Tell how to make a wise use of supplementary ma- 
terial. 

READINGS. 

Charters: Methods of Teaching, Chap. XIX.-XXV. 

Hay ward: The Lesson in Appreciation. 

Klapper: Principles of Educational Practice, Chaps. XV., 

XVI., and XXII. 
McMurry: Method of the Recitation. 
Parker: Methods of Teaching in High Schools, Chap. X.- 

XVI. 
Strayer : A Brief Course in the Teaching Process, Chap- IV.- 

X. 
Thorndike: Principles of Teaching, Chap. X. 



CHAPTER XIV. 

THE NEW CURRICULUM. 

Origin of Subject Matter. — The subject matter of 
the elementary curriculum has accumulated through 
a long process of accretion, without any counter 
process of elimination. We are all aware that the 
^^ stuff out of which we make all kinds of curricula 
is the definite product of the race, or some members 
of it, trying to solve important problems. For ex- 
ample, the myths of the Greeks are the results of 
a primitive people trying to obtain a suitable ex- 
planation of the relation of man to nature and the 
unseen world. This may have been very valuable 
for the Greek, but Greek Mythology cannot have 
the same value to us that it had to them. The rea- 
son is evident : we have learned so many more facts 
about nature and are able to instruct children as to 
their important relations to nature in a much more 
effective way. Moreover, we do not need the myth 
to explain our relation to the unseen world, because 
we have made considerable religious progress in our 
knowledge about God since the time of the ancient 
Greek. In spite of all this it is easy to find a modern 
curriculum which includes many Greek myths. 

Many other interesting examples might be given, 
showing that such matter still persists in our courses 
of study, notwithstanding that it has only historical 
value. Arithmetic presents numerous such illustra- 
tions. Many texts still persist in giving elaborate 
presentations of partial payments^ hank discounts, 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 173 

and even alligation medial, notwithstanding that 
these types of business activity are practically only 
matters of history. 

There must be a most critical revaluation of much 
of the experiences of the race, as it has been expressed 
in many forms, in order to determine how much of it 
and what part of it we need at the present time. 
We must remove a good deal of the ^^dead timber,'' 
which has almost no value at the present time. We 
must do two things to bring about this revaluation: 
first, eliminate a large part of that experience of the 
race which has only historic value; and, second, effect 
a reorganization of the remainder in such a way as 
to secure the social value involved in it. 



The Language or Expression Subjects. 

Primitive man communicated with his fellows by 
means of signs and grunts. Modern man has evolved 
most elaborate and technical languages to do the 
same thing. Among the more important subjects 
in the elementary curriculum which have expression 
as their chief end are Reading, Spelling, Writing, 
Language and Grammar, and Literature; and we 
may add Drawing and Music. Here we have eight 
subjects out of which we try to get a social art, 
namely, the expression of thought. Even the casual 
student of pedagogy who looks over a modern cur- 
riculum quickly becomes aware of the enormous 
amount of waste, due to the fact that there is no 
organization among these subjects; indeed, it is 
common to find them occupying five or six places 
on the daily program, although they involve only 
two important things, namely, written and oral 
language. 



174 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Quite recently the author had occasion to examine 
the lessons of a grade in a supposedly well-organized 
school, where he found the following conditions: 
The children had a reading lesson with one vocabu- 
lary, they spelled with another set of words from the 
spelling-book, the language lesson included quite 
another set of words, and even the writing in the 
copy-books did not call for many of the important 
other words in these subjects. Furthermore, it was 
discovered that the oral vocabulary which these chil- 
dren used before coming to school had never been 
mastered. All this is a careless and inexcusable 
waste. 

We must set ourselves resolutely to the task of 
unifying these various phases of the art of com- 
munication, in order to save the child's time and to 
secure thoroughness. If there is any reason why a 
child should endeavor to master three or four sets 
of words in a single day, that reason is not apparent 
to the thoughtful man or woman. 

In order to point out some of the more important 
aspects of this problem we will consider the expres- 
sion subjects, one by one, as they are listed above. 

1. Reading. — Reading, which has been called the 
most important school task, offers many difficult 
problems, one of the chief being that of making the 
most valuable selections out of the great wealth of 
material now available. As all literatures of any 
importance have been translated into the English 
language, we have at our command the whole field 
of race achievement. No adequate study has been 
made to ascertain the comparative values of these 
various literatures for American children. Con- 
sequently, the best we can do at present is to offer 
a considerable variety from the most important 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 175 

literary forms. For the primary grades we include 
myths, fairy tales, stories, nature studies, history, 
biography, and fables, and we make special provision 
for such material as may be used for dramatization 
purposes. 

Methods in Teaching Reading. — We still use many 
methods in the teaching of reading, the more im- 
portant being the alphabetic, the phonic, the word, 
and the sentence. We usually think that some com- 
bination should be made out of these, but we are 
not quite sure about it; indeed, it seems that when 
children are taught by a skillful teacher they may 
learn to read by almost any method. However, we 
should see to it that in the early grades the mechan- 
ical factor in learning to read is mastered in such a 
way as to give speed and accuracy to the efforts of 
the child. 

Reading should be a genuine telling of something, 
and not a parrot-like repetition of words and phrases. 
This cannot be accomplished when we make the 
same assignment for all children. In order to have 
the very best learning situation, children should 
have some reading material which is peculiarly their 
own when the class hour comes. Therefore, the best 
results may be secured by much individual assign- 
ment. The finest test in reading is to be found in 
the student's ability to get thoughts from the printed 
page, which can be ascertained by oral composition, 
or by retelling the material. The formation of good 
reading habits is a very important matter, for both 
oral and silent reading, but ability in oral reading 
is not so important as formerly, because of the great 
number of cheap books, which enables one to do his 
own reading. 

Good habits of silent reading are exceedingly im- 



176 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

portant, because much of the work of education 
consists in mastering the subject matter of books. 
The wide range of individual differences in the mat- 
ter of reading indicated in the experiments referred 
to in the chapter on ^'Psychological Factors Involved 
in the Processes of Education," shows that one stu- 
dent spent nearly four times as much time as an- 
other in reading the same selection, and that no 
proportionate thought mastery followed. Indeed, 
the student who spent only ten minutes on the read- 
ing was much better in the work of reproduction 
than the one who spent thirty-eight minutes. Cer- 
tainly the school should try very hard to give its 
members efficient habits of silent reading. 

2". Spelling. — Spelling is of importance primarily 
in that it contributes to accuracy. The school is 
concerned with two forms of spelling, namely, oral 
and written. The old-fashioned school put al- 
most all the emphasis on oral spelling, in which stu- 
dents were urged to memorize, as well as they could, 
all the words of some spelling-book. However, we 
have since learned that one may be a good oral 
speller and still be a very poor written speller, be- 
cause the two involve different habits. Of the two, 
written spelling is much more important to us, be- 
cause we have use for it in all written communica- 
tion, whereas we have scarcely any use for oral 
spelling. 

Methods — Selection of Words. — We may take the 
list of words to be studied from a special spelling- 
book, which is the most common practice at present; 
from all the subjects of the school course; from 
selected lists taken out of the written work; or we 
may make lists of words which have been mis- 
spelled in some of the ordinary school work. No 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 177 

doubt the spelling-book will continue in use for 
many years, but unless it is used with a very con- 
siderable degree of discrimination it certainly is a 
very wasteful way in which to learn spelling, because 
by it we learn only words, without any positive as- 
surance that they have been mastered for use. 

It takes a great deal of time for the teacher to go 
over the whole range of school subjects and make a 
selection of words for the children, but, in the long 
run, this is a most valuable thing to do and, after 
a teacher has once made the selection, that method 
would make very little additional demand on her 
time. Undoubtedly it is desirable for the teacher 
to scan the written work of pupils, to make lists of 
words used by them which are still incorrectly 
spelled. Quite often these are very simple, common 
words, and enough drill should be put upon them 
to have them mastered. In any event, the spelling 
work should demand a mastery of the more im- 
portant words of the community life, in such a way 
as to secure both speed and accuracy. 

The matter of teaching the diacritical marks is a 
mooted question, some teachers insisting that they 
should be taught in connection with the spelling 
and others in connection with the reading. There 
is no expert evidence to be offered in the matter. 
The author is inclined to the view that they should 
commonly be taught in connection with the reading, 
when the words are first shown to the children, as 
they are absolutely necessary to the understanding 
and pronunciation of many of our curiously spelled 
English words. Leaving them off in connection with 
ordinary reading causes little disturbance, because 
as soon as we learn to recognize words we do it mostly 
by ^'cues'^ and not by a critical examination of them. 



178 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

By the time children have gone through the fourth 
grade they should know how to use the simpler 
diacritical marks, so that they can pronounce new 
words by themselves. 

3. Writing. — We have no standards of any kind 
concerning writing. Most grown people have had 
to learn two or three different systems of writing, 
and it would be foolish to speak of any one writing 
system as best, or even good; in fact, the system or 
method by which we learn to write seems to make 
little difference. The main thing to keep in mind is 
to secure a reasonable degree of legibility and speed. 
Indeed, it seems that writing as a school exercise 
and society accomplishment may diminish in im- 
portance rapidly, for the reason that we now use the 
typewriter for all important purposes. It is not an 
unusual thing to have the class exercises in the ele- 
mentary high schools and colleges submitted to the 
teacher in typewritten form, because the student 
can write better this way than in longhand. In- 
deed, the work of the typewriter seems destined to 
supplant all hand-work in commercial transactions. 

No doubt the copy-book method of teaching 
writing will be used for many years, even though it 
is unsatisfactory in many respects. The tests pre- 
pared by Thorndike and Ayers, in scale fashion, to 
represent the degrees of progress, are much better 
than the copy-books, because they furnish much 
better measures of achievement. The chief objection 
to the use of a perfect copy is to be found in the 
fact that it presents to the children an impossible 
standard; whereas a scale, which shows progress by 
months or years, offers something which can be ac- 
complished. 

4. Language and Grammar. — We have already ob- 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 179 

served that the learning of a language conies about 
primarily through imitation; at least this is true in 
so far as it relates to oral language work. The great 
importance of the use of correct language in the home 
and by the teacher and other associates of the child 
therefore becomes apparent. 

So far as school work is concerned, language tram- 
ing should come, primarily, out of all school subjects 
and activities rather than from a specialized group 
of exercises taken out of a book. It is a much more 
valuable language training to describe a baseball 
game accurately, to tell how to make a sled, give a 
clear statement of the processes involved in the 
solution of an arithmetic problem, or to tell how to 
bake biscuits, than it is to do some formal things de- 
manded in a language text. The concrete exercises 
grow out of important activities of the school and 
home and therefore have value and vitality in them. 

Grammar is the formal side of language training 
and is largely an after-thought in the evolution of 
language. The race got along for many centuries 
without constructing any grammars. The very na- 
ture of its subject matter renders grammar exceed- 
ingly difficult for the elementary school; in fact, it is 
the author's opinion that most work in grammar 
should be done in high school or college. Further- 
more, it has been taught almost altogether by the 
deductive method. Instruction in the elementary 
school should be largely inductive. 

All the parts of speech may be taught m this 
way. For example, it is quite simple to teach, in- 
formally, one of the important facts included in the 
ordinary verb definition. All that is necessary is to 
have the children do a great many acts, such as run, 
jump, sing, whistle, write, walk, talk, whisper, draw, 



180 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

work, play, cry, laugh, see, hear, touch, smell, taste, 
saw, etc. After all these acts, it is a very simple 
matter to generalize, saying that the word verb is 
used as a general term for the word describing the 
act. A similar procedure can be followed for nouns 
by making a list of all the names of objects which 
can be found in the schoolroom or school-yard or in 
the home. 

Every study of sentence structure should be made 
on the basis of sentences used by the children in 
the various school activities, instead of those hunted 
out of books; at the least this should be the be- 
ginning of sentence teaching. At all events, most 
of the grammar work should be of the simplest char- 
acter and taught in the seventh and eighth grades. 

5. The Study of Literature. — In choosing litera- 
ture for the children to study, such pieces should be 
selected as may be used as literary wholes and as 
have in them values to children. Not too many 
classics should be chosen, but a great deal of selection 
should be made from contemporary literature, in- 
cluding travel, essay, oration, debates, short stories, 
etc. Sometimes an effort is made to study literature 
formally in the elementary grades; this should be 
reserved for the junior or senior year of high school, 
after the pupils have studied general history. The 
literature work that is done in the grades should be 
primarily for appreciation, rather than to make any 
considerable technical study of form; the form side 
should be incidental rather than the main thing. 
Not the details about some bit of literature, but the 
main features should be emphasized. 

Much supplementary reading can be done by the 
children for additional information and home study, 
and much should be provided from the school li- 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 181 

brary. As has already been intimated in another 
chapter, this is one of the very best ways of provid- 
ing for important individual differences in taste and 
capacity. To be of the greatest value, the teacher 
should suggest the reading, taking into account the 
needs and differences of the children. Moreover, 
some accounting should be required from the chil- 
dren concerning this outside reading, if best results 
are to be obtained. Occasionally a Friday after- 
noon should be devoted to the reproduction of m- 
teresting information gained from supplementary 

reading. 

6. Drawing.— The so-called fine art of drawmg, 
which includes all phases of representation, has been 
getting into the required curriculum of the elementary 
school, slowly, for some years. In some states it is 
required by statute; in other states and towns it 
has come in by direct enactment of school boards 
and state superintendents; in a great many towns it 
has no assured place at all; and its story m rural 
schools is quite a sad one. Undoubtedly the time 
has come for a complete recognition of this subject 
and it should be made a requirement of the modern 
elementary curriculum. We know that more chil- 
dren, proportionately, can be taught drawing ef- 
fectively than can be taught to read, spell, or ''do 
numbers" accurately. The day is past for any con- 
sideration of the notion that drawing requhres some 
special gift or genius in order to be learned or ap- 
preciated. We must recognize its value as helping 
to bring about complete development of the human 
mind. 

Among the more specific values that may be urged 
for drawing are these: 1. It is a most excellent way 
of expressing our thinking and feeling. 2. It has 



182 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

direct economical value in that the subject of design 
is very important in determining the commercial 
value of many articles. 3. It has important scien- 
tific values also, because it is used as an aid in re- 
cording many of the discoveries of science. 4. Its 
aesthetic value is apparent in that it gives to those 
who have a knowledge of it a peculiar capacity to 
appreciate many of the finest things in nature and 
the race experience. 

A very good case for drawing could be made out 
even if we based the argument on economic grounds 
alone. At the present time in this country there is 
an urgent need of good designers. One of the 
reasons why foreign manufacturers have won out so 
many times in the competition with American manu- 
facturers is that they have been able to offer better 
designs. We buy clothing, rugs, furniture, china, 
jewelry, in fact almost everything, because of what we 
call ''style,'' which is only another name for design. 
Generally, we know very little about the beauty or 
fineness of the material used in the making of an 
article; we are attracted by the pattern^ which some 
designer has made. 

Drawing involves manual dexterity, which can 
be secured only while there is muscular pliability, 
and the habits must be set up during this period of 
plasticity. Therefore, the subject should be intro- 
duced in the very beginning of the elementary cur- 
riculum and continued throughout the eight grades 
and the high school. 

Subject Matter and Methods in Drawing. — ^Usually, 
the instruction in drawing has been entirely too formal, 
because it has consisted mainly in copying subjects 
taken from a drawing-book. Freehand drawing 
should begin with the instinct which children have 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 183 

to express their experiences. In fact, children do 
not copy from books or objects, but try to express 
their knowledge and experiences by drawing or 
scribbhng. In other words, they draw ''out of their 
heads" without any immediate external stimulus. 
In choosing material these facts should be kept in 
mind, as they determine in a great measure the range 
of choice. To be sure, it will be necessary to bring 
directly to the pupil's attention significant subjects 
for additional observation. Another defect in the 
teaching of drawing has been that too many different 
subjects have been used, with the result that only 
a very poor organization of the subject matter has 
been possible. 

It is desu-able that useful type studies be selected 
very early in the child's school career, and then 
kept for several years of the course. For example, 
trees, houses, domestic and wild animals, flowers, 
and landscapes are already a part of the child's ex- 
perience when he comes to school. After the types 
have been selected they should be managed in such a 
way, through the grades, as to provide for increasing 
difficulty and interest. This should be done instead 
of choosing different studies. As soon as the chil- 
dren have accumulated some knowledge about art, 
they should be introduced to some of the master- 
pieces involving the special type under consideration. 
7. Music. — In a large measure the statements 
made concerning the introduction of drawing into 
the pubUc schools are as true of the introduction of 
music. There is no general statement which can be 
made about its status in elementary curricula. Some 
states absolutely require it; in others it has come m 
without any statutory requirement; and in a great 
many states it has no standing whatever, especially 



184 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

in the rural schools. Undoubtedly the time has 
come for a complete recognition of music as offering 
those values which ought to be secured by all children. 

Among the more important considerations which 
may be urged in favor of the teaching of music are 
the following: 1. Inasmuch as music is primarily 
the language of the emotions, we should teach it to 
give direction and control to the emotional life. It is 
employed in all the emotional crises of life as is no 
other mode of expression. In the form of song or 
instrumentation we use it to express the highest 
feelings of which we are capable, — in joy, sorrow, 
love, patriotism, worship, and adoration. Un- 
doubtedly the school should do more to provide 
its children with this means of expression, not in 
order to make mere artists (as was thought formerly), 
but that the children may learn to live through the 
ordinary human experiences in a perfectly sane way. 

2. Music has also very positive moral and social 
values; indeed, it has been said that it is primarily 
social in its ministration. It is certain that there is 
no better way to unify the school spirit, as well as to 
provide for its group enjoyment, than through music. 
The practical application of this is no small problem 
for the rural school, in view of the small number of 
children and the usual lack of any instrument to 
play accompaniments. As was suggested in another 
chapter, possibly the victrola (or some other me- 
chanical way of reproducing music) may come to sup- 
ply some of the instrumental deficiencies. 

Subject Matter in Music. — The greatest difficulty 
in all musical instruction lies in the fact that the 
literature of music is unorganized. Some wise 
critic should go through its literature and organize 
it in such a way as to set out good selections, ap- 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 185 

propriate to secure the fundamental values urged 
above. When this is done, these selections should be 
taught to all children. It is of some advantage that 
children learn to sing only, but it is of much greater 
importance that they should learn to sing the songa 
which express the sentiments vital to human satis- 
factions. This literature should include the master- 
pieces in song which relate to the home, our country, 
love, joy, sorrow, and worship. 

Methods. — Usually, too much time has been spent 
on the technique of music in the instruction of small 
children. This represents the formal and abstract 
phases of the subject and is therefore of little inter- 
est to young students. They should learn by rote, 
memorizing both the words and the music of three or 
four songs per month. Very little technical instruc- 
tion should be given before the seventh and eighth 
grades, — only a few simple facts about the scales 
and reading of notes. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. How does all subject matter originate? 

2. How and why did subject matter get into book 
form? 

3. Why are we so reluctant to leave out subjects which 
have once found their way into the course of study? 

4. Why is it so difficult to introduce new subject's into a 
course of study? 

5. What subjects or topics would you leave out of 
geography? history? arithmetic? grammar? com- 
position study? 

6. Is the mastery of oral or written language more im- 
portant? Give reasons for your answer. 



186 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

7. Try to organize a course of study in the Expression 
subjects based on the theory of the author. 

8. Make an argument for the introduction of drawing 
into all schools based on its scientific, economic, and 
aesthetic values. 

9. Can all children learn something about music? 

10. What are the individual and social values of musical 
training? The moral values? 

11. Of what value is it to one to study music who can- 
not learn to sing? 

12. Outline a good course in Elementary Reading, by 
grades, in such a ^v^ay as to include the various lit- 
erary forms. 

13. To what extent would you teach technical grammar 
in the elementary school? Discuss in detail, giving 
reasons for your conclusions. 

14. If the typewriter is to displace script for business and 
many other purposes, why should so much time be 
spent in learning to write? 

15. Give the advantages and disadvantages of a spelling- 
book for the grades. 

16. Try to evaluate the various methods of teaching 
reading. 

17. Make a study of a half-dozen modern primers and 
first readers to try to determine how they have been 
affected by the various methods of teaching reading. 

READINGS. 

Betts and Hall : Better Rural Schools, Part II. 
Charters: Methods of Teaching, Chap. II.-IV. 
Charters : Teaching the Commo7i Branches. 
Cubberley: Rural Life and Education, Chap. XI. 
Dewey: The Child and the Curriculum. 



i 

CHAPTER XV. 

THE NEW CURRICULUM (Continued). 

Nature Subjects. 

In the second group of subjects are those which 
grow out of our natural environment and which we 
call nature or natural-science material. ^ We have ac- 
cumulated a vast amount of information about the 
simple and more complex facts of our natural environ- 
ment. Among the more important subjects of study 
may be mentioned, Nature Study, Descriptive and 
Physical Geography, Physiology, Hygiene, Agricul- 
ture, and very frequently we find elementary phases 
of Chemistry, Physics, and Biology. The examina- 
tion of any elementary curriculum found in a state 
course of study, or in a town or city course of study, 
will reveal vast bodies of subject matter which might 
be cataloged under one or more of these names. 

Here we have a fine example of chaos. There is 
no principle, sequence, point of view, or unity among 
all these subjects. Very generally we recognize the 
fact that a knowledge of nature has two sets of 
values,— one utilitarian and the other sesthetic. 
From the beginning man has been taught that he 
should master Nature, so that she may serve his 
needs. Notwithstanding this fact, in our accumu- 
lation and arrangement of material, these various 
subjects are taught without any organization based 
on this functional point of view. Undoubtedly, in 
the near future, we should be able to organize all of 



188 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

this nature-series core for our elementary curricula 
in such a way that it will run through the entire 
elementary school, from the first to the eighth grade, 
with this single point of view, rather than teach a 
great number of ^Hidbits" of knowledge almost 
wholly unrelated. It is not an unusual thing for 
two, or even three, sections of this knowledge to be 
required for the same grade. We will discuss briefly 
some of the subjects which are used to make up this 
core. 

1. Physiology and Hygiene. — Of first importance 
among the nature subjects is Physiology and 
Hygiene. We do not need to know much about 
anatomy, but knowing how to live a vigorous, hearty 
life is of vast importance. The study should begin 
in the very first grade with mouth-and-nose hygiene, 
cleanliness, the necessity of fresh air and exercise. In- 
asmuch as a very detailed discussion of personal 
hygiene will be found in another chapter, no treat- 
ment of the subject is necessary here. 

2. Nature Study. — Nature study should begin 
with some observation of the plant and animal life 
in the immediate environment of the child. From 
this study we should go into the problems of agri- 
culture, as they come naturally out of the yard, 
garden, and field; the study of soils; the care and 
feeding of animals; the elementary phases of farm 
management; the care of poultry; and a consider- 
able study of plants, including shrubs, trees, vege- 
tables, cereals, etc., as they are grown in the neigh- 
borhood. 

3. Geography. — Geography has been too exclu- 
sively a matter of memorizing names, places, and 
facts, very largely unrelated to social values of any 
kind. The great need of Geography is that it 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 189 

should be humanized. In Dewey's Moral Principles 
in Education' ^Y0 have a statement which expresses 
very definitely the author's thinking concerning the 
matter : 

"The beginning must be social geography, the frank recogni- 
tion of the earth as the home of men acting in relations to one 
another. I mean by this that the essence of any geographical 
fact is the consciousness of two persons, or two groups of persons, 
who are at once separated and connected by their physical 
environment, and that the interest is in seeing how these people 
are at once kept apart and brought together in their actions by 
the instrumentality of the physical environment. The ultimate 
significance of lake, river, mountain, and plain is not physical 
but social; it is the part which it plays in modifying and directing 
human relationships." 

In German elementary schools history is most 
definitely correlated with geography, much to the 
advantage of the geography instruction. Geography 
should be made much more an out-of-door subject 
and much less a book subject. Field trips, well 
planned, are oi more importance than has been sup- 
posed. Perhaps the finest aid to geography m the 
world is utihzed in Switzerland, where the children 
and the teacher, annually, go on long field trips, 
extending over several days, partly at the expense 
of the state. To be sure, such trips can be made 
more profitable in Switzerland than in some of our 
states in America, for the reason that in Switzerland 
all possible land and water forms and all possible 
occupations can be observed without going any great 
rlmtfiTi ces 

In the humanizing process we should endeavor to 
gain a much more intimate knowledge of people and 

1 Dewey: Moral Principles in Education, pp. 34 and 35. 



190 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

of their work, as they contribute to our welfare. 
Recently the author went into a third-grade class in 
nature study or geography and asked this question: 
''Can you tell how you received the clothing you 
now wear?'' Immediately a list was made of the 
more important articles of clothing worn by the 
children. Then followed the discussion of the man- 
ner of securing each of the raw products, from its 
original source of supply and carrying them through 
the various stages of growth, cultivation, gathering 
or harvesting, shipping, and manufacturing, with the 
bringing of the finished product to the local store. 
In these various processes it was discovered that 
manufacturers, railroad men, miners, mechanics, 
factory hands, draymen, merchants, salesmen, etc., 
had all been at work to make it possible for us to 
own shoes, coats, caps, shirts, underwear, stockings, 
etc. This is a type study, and the very same sort 
of question might be raised concerning the food sup- 
ply for a day or a year; the material to build a 
house or barn; the articles to furnish a home, or to 
construct a bridge or railroad. 

In such a study we will need maps, globes, charts, 
etc., but the experiences of the children must be 
used in large measure if such a study is to be signifi- 
cant. If children have not had enough first-hand ex- 
perience, we should go out with them and help them 
to get that experience under the best conditions 
possible. It will be observed that this is primarily 
an inductive method, rather than a deductive method 
of instruction. Too many texts in geography, even 
of the present, begin with the world, land and water 
forms, etc., in the old-fashioned deductive way. 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 191 



History. 

There is very good ground for considering History 
under the Expression group, but the author here 
gives it its conventional place in co-ordination with 
that and the other groups. 

As in geography, the subject matter in history for 
the elementary schools has been too largely made up 
of names of places, statements of facts, dates con- 
cerning the doings of generals, presidents, etc. This 
is entirely inadequate if the subject matter of his- 
tory is to have its effect upon moral character and 
citizenship. Inasmuch as so large a number of chil- 
dren go through life with no other training than that 
of the elementary school, — in fact, more than half 
of our population does so, — it would be much wiser 
to have a child get a few of the main steps in the 
progress of the race as it has come from primitive 
man up to modern life. I cannot refrain from quot- 
ing Dewey ^ again, somewhat at length : 

"One reason historical teaching is usually not more effective 
is that the student is set to acquire information in such a way 
that no epochs or factors stand out in his mind as typical: 
everything is reduced to the same dead level. The way to 
secure the necessary perspective is to treat the past as if it were a 
projected present with some of its elements enlarged. 

The principle of contrast is as important as that of similarity. 
Because the present life is so close to us, touching us at every 
point, we cannot get away from it to see it as it really is. Noth- 
ing stands out clearly or sharply as characteristic. In the 
study of past periods, attention necessarily attaches itself to 
striking differences. Thus the child gets a locus of imagination, 
through which he can remove himself from the pressure of 
present surrounding circumstances and define them. 

1 Dewey: Moral Principles in Education, pp. 37 and 40. 



192 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

History is equally available in teaching the methods of social 
progress. It is commonly stated that history must be studied 
from the standpoint of cause and effect. The truth of this 
statement depends upon its interpretation. Social life is so 
complex and the various parts of it are so organically related to 
one another and to the natural environment, that it is impossible 
to say that this or that thing is the cause of some other particular 
thing. But the study of history can reveal the main instruments 
in the discoveries, inventions, new modes of life, etc., which 
have initiated the great epochs of social advance; and it can 
present to the child types of the main lines of social progress, 
and can set before him what have been the chief difficulties and 
obstructions in the way of progress. Once more this can be 
done only in so far as it is recognized that social forces in them- 
selves are always the same, — that the same kind of influences 
were at work one hundred and one thousand years ago that are 
now working, — and that particular historical epochs afford 
illustration of the way in which the fundamental forces work. 

Everything depends, then, upon history being treated from 
a social standpoint; as manifesting the agencies which have 
influenced social development and as presenting the typical 
institutions in which social Hfe has expressed itself. The 
culture-epoch theory, while working in the right direction, has 
failed to recognize the importance of treating past periods with 
relation to the present, — as affording insight into the repre- 
sentative factors of its structure; it has treated these periods 
too much as if they had some meaning or value in themselves. 
The way in which the biographical method is handled illustrates 
the same point. It is often treated in such a way as to exclude 
from the child's consciousness (or at least not sufficiently to 
emphasize) the social forces and principles involved in the 
association of the masses of men. It is quite true that the 
child is easily interested in history from the biographical stand- 
point; but unless "the hero" is treated in relation to the com- 
munity life behind him that he sums up and directs, there is 
danger that history will reduce itself to a mere exciting story. 
Then moral instruction reduces itself to drawing certain lessons 
from the hfe of the particular personalities concerned, instead 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 193 

of widening and deepening the child's imagination of social 
relations, ideals, and means." 

Here you have very little suggestion concerning 
wars, military achievements, or the doings of kings 
and courts. 

The Study of History in the Elementary School. 
Report to the American Historical Association by the 
Committee of Eight is a most excellent study of the 
method and subject matter which should be employed 
for the elementary school. No elementary teacher 
should undertake to teach the subject of history 
without a knowledge of this report. In this report 
all the material is outlined by grades and subjects, 
in a most comprehensive way. 

Whatever the source of the material used, there 
should be presented to the children a brief survey 
which will include a view of primitive man trying to 
work out the simple problems of the race, in such 
fashion as the Egyptian, the Chinese, and the Amer- 
ican Indian have toiled. We should present the 
Hebrew who, through long centuries of tribulation 
and disaster, preserved the fundamentals of religion 
and morality; the Greek, striving to fix important 
standards, in language, literature philosophy, and 
art; the Roman, working through the centuries to 
establish laws and build institutions for human prog- 
ress; and, finally, the Christian, with his endeavor 
to work out political, social, economic, and religious 
freedom, using the state as a means to secure this 
result. 

It does not seem that any intensive study of the 
problems of United States history, however inter- 
esting and important these problems may be, will 
furnish any adequate comprehension of the issues 



194 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



involved in the progress of man from savagery and 
barbarism up to humanism and civihzation. Maps, 
pictures, stories, references, and dramatization should 
all be utilized in such a way as to make the problems 
of history as real as possible. In another place the 
author referred to the dramatization of the great 
Constitutional Convention, which is typical of what 
can be done to vitalize the teaching of history. 

Arithmetic. 

In a very large measure the problems of Arithmetic 
grow out of the nature subjects, but the author has 
thought it best to place it in co-ordination with the 
groups, including the nature sciences. 

Some form of arithmetic instruction has usually 
been required in each of the eight grades, and some- 
times two periods per day have been required when 
oral or mental arithmetic has been accorded a sep- 
arate period. To be sure, we know now that there 
should be no definite separation of oral from written 
arithmetic, for the reason that written arithmetic is 
used only in connection with problems which are 
too elaborate for oral work. It has not been unusual 
for arithmetic to consume as much time as any other 
two subjects of the elementary curriculum, yet it 
is not unusual for eighth-grade children not to be 
able to perform the fundamental processes with 
speed and accuracy. 

The chief reason for arithmetic's consuming so 
much of the time of the elementary school has 
been the very common belief concerning its value 
for mental training or discipline, usually stated in 
language such as this: It enables one to think 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 195 

logically and accurately. (For a discussion of this 
matter see the chapter on '' Psychological Factors 
Involved in the Processes of Education," under the 
topic of '^ Formal Discipline.") Then, too, the util- 
itarian values have been urged with a great degree 
of earnestness. 

What are the positive values of the study of this 
subject? To learn how to manage a number of ob- 
jects and quantities of things; to be able to answer 
the questions of ''How much?" and ''How many?" 
These are the more important considerations in 
dealing with arithmetical problems. We should 
bear in mind that there are only two things which 
can be done with numbers or quantities; namely, 
they may be increased or decreased, addition and 
multiplication being the processes by which we in- 
crease numbers or quantities, and subtraction and 
division the processes by which we decrease them. 

^¥hat shall we teach children in arithmetic? 
This question has been answered by Professor 
David Eugene Smith, ^ who is probably the greatest 
authority in America on the teaching of mathe- 
matics : 

''For the ordinary purposes of non-technical daily life we 
need little of pure arithmetic beyond (1) counting, the knowledge 
of numbers, and their representation to billions (the English 
thousand millions), (2) addition and multiplication of integers, 
of decimal fractions with not more than three decimal places, 
and of simple common fractions, (3) subtraction of integers and 
decimal fractions, and (4) a little of division. Of applied 
arithmetic we need to know (1) a few tables of denominate 
numbers, (2) the simpler problems in reduction of such numbers, 
as from pounds to ounces, (3) a slight amount concerning addi- 
tion and multipUcation of such numbers, (4) some simple 

1 Smith: The Teaching of Elementary Mathematics, p. 21. 



196 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

numerical geometry, including the mensuration of rectangles 
and parallelopipeds, and (5) enough of percentage to compute 
a commercial discount and the simple interest on a note." 

He also asks ^ what we shall expect of children in 
the way of utilities of arithmetic, and then proceeds 
to answer the question: 

^' (1) A good working knowledge of the fundamental processes 
set forth on p. 21 [stated above]; (2) accuracy and reasonable 
rapidity, . . . and (3) a knowledge of the ordinary problems of 
daily life. Were arithmetic taught for the utilities alone, all 
this could be accomphshed in about a third of the time now 
given to the subject." 

This raises one more important question: What 
and how much shall we eliminate from the ordinary 
arithmetic course of study for the elementary grades? 
It is difficult to eliminate time-honored subjects 
from the arithmetic, for the reason that the older 
people of the community, who may have studied 
these subjects, have a positive prejudice in favor of 
them and because of their supposed efficacy in giv- 
ing some sort of mental discipline. 

The following may be mentioned as having little 
value for the ordinary student, unless the doctrine 
of discipline, in some form or other, is accepted, or 
unless we try to train the students for every possible 
situation which may arise in a lifetime; all but very 
simple partial payments; cube root; troy weight; 
equation of pa^^ments; alligation; all but very simple 
cases of stocks and bonds; compound proportion; 
a great deal of the technical material concerning 
compound numbers. (It seems too bad that we 
must continue the ''hodge-podge" of compound 

1 Smith: The Teaching oj Elementary Mathematics, p. 23. 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 197 

numbers as we have them m American usage. The 
metric system is so much better in every way.) 
We do not need to learn much about bank discount, 
for even the banker uses a sheepskin-covered book, 
with tables, to compute the various bank discounts. 
We need to leave out all of those complex problems 
in common and decimal fractions which are never 
used either by children or by adults. We should 
leave out much of the material in connection with 
simple, compound, and annual interest, for in prac- 
tice we use only the simplest aspects of these. 

Doubtless the reader is beginning to wonder if the 
author wants any arithmetic left. Yes, much, but 
it should be arithmetic which comes out of life situ- 
ations rather than out of books. We should seek 
problems as they are found in real life, in the teach- 
ing of agriculture, manual training, and household 
arts, and, for small children, the games should not 
be omitted. In the matter of methods again, it is 
worthy of note that induction and not deduction 
should be used. Too many of our textbooks at pres- 
ent commence with definitions and rules, instead of 
providing direct experiences so that the rules ^ and 
definitions may be reached as general principles. 
Some laboratory equipment is almost indispensable for 
instruction in primary arithmetic. Among the more 
important things may be mentioned the following: 

A set of scales. 

100 inch-cubes. 

A set of liquid measures. 

A set of dry measures. 

Some rulers. 

A clock dial. 

Some real or toy money. 



198 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Leaving out the real money, the total expense 
should not be more than seven or eight dollars for 
such an equipment. 

Manual Arts. 

The manual arts have not been very well organized 
for rural schools, or even for village schools, but many 
city systems now have very good equipments and 
are doing fairly good work. However, much remains 
to be done in connection with the organization of 
the work. Undoubtedly there is much more need 
for training in the manual arts now than in the pre- 
ceding generation, because the factory has taken over 
so many of the tasks which were formerly done in the 
home. The case seems somewhat hopeless in con- 
nection with rural life and the one-room rural school, 
on account of the expense of the equipment. More- 
over, there is usually no suitable room and no trained 
teacher to do the work. Here again appears an argu- 
ment for the consolidated school. 

The manual arts provide opportunity for much 
more motor activity than do many of the other 
subjects in the curriculum. Such work allows the 
motor types of children such tasks as will induce 
them to remain in school longer. It is a means of 
expression, and definitely appeals to the constructive 
instincts of children; it affords an opportunity for 
the correlation of body and mind ; it is a necessary 
primary training for many important industries; it 
gives an appreciation of the value of work; it affords 
a chance to learn the worth of co-operation; and 
it has certain moral values in requiring care and ac- 
curacy to secure the best results. 

The course of study should include some of the 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 199 

primary handwork, such as paper-cutting and past- 
ing, weaving, sewing, book-making, clay-modeling, 
and elementary wood-working. In the grammar 
grades advanced wood-working and metal-working 
should be offered. The equipment for the various 
subjects in handwork is not very costly. A complete 
equipment for wood-working and metal-working is 
entirely too expensive for a one-room school, though 
it might easily be secured for a consolidated district. 



Household Arts. 

In many of the states not much has been ac- 
compHshed by rural schools in household arts, on 
account of the lack of equipment and a certain prej- 
udice against such instruction. In some of the states, 
in the towns and cities a great deal has been done, 
in so far as the introduction of the work is concerned, 
but much remains to be accomplished in its organi- 
zation. 

Among the more important values which have been 
urged for the- introduction of these arts in the ele- 
mentary course of study may be mentioned the 
following: (1) It helps to make efficient homes, 
for, as has been pointed out by many writers and 
lecturers recently, we have applied our knowledge 
of science to all the other problems of life with greater 
directness and effectiveness than we have to those of 
the household. Unquestionably, it is true that we 
have utilized certain scientific facts far better on 
the farm, out-of-doors, than we have applied those 
same principles in the household. (2) It gives dignity 
to the work of the house. So long as household 
tasks are considered suitable for servants only, so 
long will they be shirked and slighted, but if they are 



200 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

studied as school tasks they at once take on im- 
portance and dignity. (3) This work gives large 
room for the gratification of motor activity and 
the constructive instincts. Ultimately, more than 
ninety per cent, of all the women become household 
managers and home-makers and they need specific 
training for this work. A woman should be trained 
in the knowledge of values of clothing, food, furni- 
ture, etc., because she is very generally the purchas- 
ing agent for the home. 

The course of study will include Good Housing^ 
for this is important in the matter of both comfort 
and sanitation. The Value of Food will also be studied, 
for we know very little about the selection and prep- 
aration of suitable foods for children and adults, 
much less how to secure the values of these foods 
by the various methods of cooking. Indeed, it would 
appear that we have worked out much more carefully 
well-balanced rations for pigs and cows than we have 
for human beings. Clothing is also an important 
topic for its selection, and the consideration of its 
values, kinds, style, fabrics, etc., is an important 
matter for the household. Home Nursing should 
also be taught, because some members of the house- 
hold ordinarily become nurses in case of sickness. 
This is exceedingly important in rural hfe, where the 
trained nurse cannot possibly be obtained. We know 
now the value of nursing as compared with ^'dosing'' 
with medicines. 

We have no solution, as yet, of the domestic ser- 
vice problem, and no solution can come while our 
knowledge of the subject remains in the present un- 
organized state. 

In the matter of equipment, the courses for cook- 
ing and machine-sewing are such as to make it im- 



THE NEW CURRICULUM 201 

possible to teach these subjects to any extent in the 
ordinary rural school, but for the other subjects no 
very expensive equipment is necessary. 

Summary. — Much of the discussion of this chapter 
tends to show the difficulties in the rural school 
situation, so long as the one-room school is a unit 
for work. The so-called special subjects of music, 
manual training, household arts, etc., are nearly 
impossible in any well-organized form in such a con- 
dition. Yet we must recognize the fact that the 
demands for instruction in these subjects are be- 
ing made persistently upon the modern school, and 
we must bring about such conditions, very soon, as 
will enable us to meet these requirements. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Should Partial Payments be left out of elementary 
Arithmetic? Why? 

2. Try to organize a course of study in the nature sub- 
jects on the theory of the author. 

3. Make a clear argument for the introduction of Man- 
ual Arts in rural schools. 

4. Why should Household Arts be taught in all ele- 
mentary schools ? 

5. Tell how to measure the value of History as an 
elementary school subject. 

6. What phases of Manual Arts can be introduced in 
rural schools with the least expense and technical 
training of the teacher? 

7. What problems in Household Arts can be solved in 
almost any rural school? 

8. Discuss the values of laboratory equipment for the 
teaching of Arithmetic. 



202 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

9. Select material and make a plan for the dramatiza- 
tion of the First Continental Congress and of the 
Inauguration of George Washington. 

10. What is meant by the teaching of History from the 
*' social standpoint"? 

11. How may instruction in History be made to con- 
tribute to moral growth? 

12. Should U. S. History and Civics be correlated in the 
grades? Give the more important arguments in the 
case. 

13. State the values of teaching General History in the 
grades before United States History is taught. 

14. How do you value the ability of the teacher to tell 
stories in Reading and History? 

READINGS. 

Betts and Hall : Better Rural Schools, Part II. 
Charters: Methods of Teaching, Chap. II.-IV. 
Charters: Teaching the Common Branches. 
Cubberley: Rural Life and Education, Chap. XL 
Dewey : The Child and the Curriculum. 
Talbot and Breckenridge : The Modern Household. 



CHAPTER XVI. 

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE. 

Present-day treatises on school discipline and 
school administration are largely based on pathology; 
the whole scheme of administration has in view the 
care of ^^bad" children. All of this must be changed 
for the welfare of society. School discipline should 
be one of the constructive forces to secure right ideals 
and proper social habits. We must come to this 
viewpoint in the interest of democracy, however 
difficult it may be, for we are trying to send into 
society boys and girls with such social habits as may 
operate at once in the interest of social welfare. 

Forms of Discipline. — The current forms of school 
discipline may be said to fall into the following 
classes: 1. the absolute monarchy; 2. the aristocracy 
or republic; 3. the democracy. The monarchial 
type was transplanted to our soil from European 
countries in the shape of the old-fashioned school- 
master, who still exists in some districts. He was 
the monarch of all he surveyed. The children 
thought he w^as responsible for the government of the 
school; he thought so himself and so did the com- 
munity. It is needless to remark that such a form 
of school administration furnished virtually no train- 
ing for democracy, for the reason that children had 
no opportunity to acquire habits of self-control or 
value courses of action. 

The aristocratic type (it may be called republican in 



201 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

some respects) is one in which the very good children 
of the school acquiesce in the rules which are laid 
down for the conduct of the school, and, indeed, may 
have some part in their formation. But there are 
always many children who do not feel the values 
involved in the pre-established rules and in partial 
self-government and are not willing to live under 
them without much coercion. 

The efforts to meet the spirit of such pupils as 
these through student government in so many places 
in this country are attempts to secure democracy 
through the school organization. So far these ex- 
periments have been more or less unsuccessful. But 
the experimentation is in the right direction, because 
we are training people in this country to control 
themselves in group relationships; and it should 
be the function of the school to furnish the maximum 
amount of training of this kind possible during the 
school period. We should remember none the less 
that children are largely subject to impulsive action 
and that it is necessary for the teacher, and others, 
to furnish suggestion and guidance in the earher 
stages of any form of pupil government. The diffi- 
culty has been to secure teachers with enough per- 
sonality and wisdom to set the right standards. 

The Aims of Discipline. — The aims of discipline 
should be fundamentally the same as those for the 
school as a whole, for the reason that discipline is 
merely one of the factors in educating and training 
the child. Recently McMurry ^ pointed out, from 
a constructive point of view, the aims of the school. 
He suggested that we measure the efficiency of the 
school by the motives and purposes which are formed 

1 McMurry: Elementary School Standards, Chap. III. 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 205 

by it; by the power acquired to measure the values 
of life properly; by the organization of systems of its 
ideas; and finally by the amount of initiative ac- 
quired by the child. 

Perhaps it is true that now, as never before in the 
history of the race, we are inquiring into the pur- 
poses and motives of individual and social organiza- 
tions. We are trying to discover the specific and 
general values of subject matter. We are endeavor- 
ing to organize all kinds of facts and ideas into 
workable relationship. We are testing the values 
of these facts. It has been said sometimes that the 
difference between an educated man and an un- 
educated one is largely a matter of the organization 
and the valuation of experiences and facts. Society 
has always put a high value on initiative, but it seems 
to me that we are paying and are willing to pay still 
greater premiums for the right sort of initiative — ■ 
initiative which has both historical background and 
present-day social perspective. There are three 
special problems to be kept in mind in connection 
with the aims of school discipline. 

1. School discipline should always be such as to 
conserve those traits of character which may be 
turned to the good of the individual and ultimately 
to the advantage of society. In the old days it was 
a crime for students to want to do special things in 
the schoolroom, but we have grown wise enough 
nowadays to make special assignments in order to 
secure individual development, because in this way 
we help to assure the progress of society. 

2. The discipline of the school should be admin- 
istered in such a way as to recognize and secure the 
welfare of the school as a group. Many activities 
of individuals or members of groups may not be 



206 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

intrinsically wrong or bad, but these activities can- 
not be permitted indiscriminately, because of the 
group situation. Getting a drink of water, going to 
the dictionary or library, leaving the room, whis- 
pering to a neighbor, or even studying aloud are 
not in themselves bad things; but the school must 
forbid them except under certain general rules, for 
the reason that any one of them if attempted by 
all members of the group at one time would destroy 
the school as a working group. It is not difficult 
to make a group of school children understand this 
if the teacher has a fair amount of common sense 
and wisdom. Certainly, these things are not offences 
against the teacher as a person, but against the 
group as a working unit. All school work furnishes 
some discipline, and children should understand why 
such is the fact. 

3. School discipline and school conduct should not 
be considered as different from those of life outside, 
because very soon students go from the school to 
community activities of various kinds. It is funda- 
mentally important for teachers, parents, and chil- 
dren that they realize that there cannot be two sets 
of habits and ideals; one for school and another for 
the home, the church, or the state. As was observed 
in another paragraph, the whole training should have 
as its end preparation for life itself.^ 

The Teacher as a Factor. — One of the most impor- 
tant lessons for the teacher to learn in connection 
with discipline is that she must attain and preserve 
an impersonal attitude toward the problems of school 
discipline. This is not easy, but it is absolutely 
necessary for fairness and justice. It is important, 

1 Dewey: Ethical Principles Underlying Education. — 3rd Year 
Book National Herbartian Society. 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 207 

also, if the teacher is to be saved from a case of 
'^ nerves" as a result of school difficulties. 

The Child's Attitude. — It is also important for the 
teacher to understand that the child's attitude is 
extremely selfish and personal. This must be ex- 
pected, whether we believe in the culture epoch, or 
the recapitulation theory, that each child must go 
through the race experience, and must therefore 
at times be a little savage or barbarian. What- 
ever our theory may be, it is certain that every 
youngster needs much humanizing and socializ- 
ing. He must be made to appreciate work and 
responsibility and must be taught to value situa- 
tions in terms of the time and the interest of the 
group. 

The Parents* Attitude. — One of the queer experiences 
we still have is finding that many parents are un- 
able to recognize the rights of the school over their 
children. They expect the school to tolerate many 
forms of conduct which are not allowed in the home. 
It is not an unusual thing for them to instruct their 
children at home that they must not tell or ''tattle" 
about the conduct of other children, no matter how 
vicious that conduct may be. It seems to be the 
assumption of such parents that the teacher, ''who 
of course is all-wise,' ' can take care of such matters, 
and that they are of chief interest to her. Sometimes 
we still meet the belief that it is the teacher's sole 
responsibihty to make the children behave. These 
attitudes are not as common as they once were, but 
much must yet be accomplished to bring about 
perfect co-operation between the teacher and the 
parents in the training of the child in right habits of 
conduct for society. In some measure, the present 
movement toward the organization of parent-teacher 



208 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

associatiofis will help to bring about a better co- 
operation between the home and the school. 

Learning Team Work. — It is important in discipline 
to have children learn to do team work, or to co- 
operate. The tasks growing out of the school cur- 
riculum are in themselves too individualistic and 
breed selfishness and jealousy. It is often consid- 
ered a crime for one child to help another in his 
school work. This may be observed in the assign- 
ment of problems in arithmetic, spelling lessons, lan- 
guage lessons, reading, and almost all other subjects 
of the elementary curriculum. It is common in a 
reading lesson for a whole class to be set to watchJ[or 
mistakes made by the one doing oral reading; and 
it is counted a virtue to find some fault with the 
reader. This should be discouraged. We should 
emphasize team work in the school so as to cultivate 
the right school attitude. Some of the ways in which 
this may be done is found in dramatics, the making 
of school gardens, the various efforts toward pupil 
government, and the ordinary plays and games for 
the school recreations. 

The author remembers very well two boys who 
started to fight while playing a game of baseball. 
They were punished by being sent out of the game, 
to the opposite corner of the schoolyard. They were 
left in these corners during the play periods for some 
days, to make sure that they understood the value 
of baseball as a game calling for team work and not 
for the settling of individual differences. The lesson 
was a very effective one; there was not another 
serious disturbance on the playground for a whole 
year following the occurrence. 

The subjects of the curriculum should be handled 
in such a way as to offer more team-work situations 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 209 

in addition to those mentioned above. Household 
arts and manual training afford fine opportunities 
for co-operation. Boys' and girls' clubs with various 
objects, the organization of school quartets or cho- 
ruses, and in some ways the Y. M. C. A. and Y. W. C. 
A. offer opportunities for engaging in team work. 

One of the characteristic beliefs of school children, 
commonly drilled into them by their parents, is that 
they must not tell on or 'Hattle" on their fellows. 
This is entirely an individual attitude and results 
at times in serious consequences. The author re- 
members the case of a small boy who was not willing 
to tell on a companion who threw a stone and injured 
a small girl very severely. He said he was not going 
to be a 'Hattler,'' but when he was asked what he 
would want done in the matter if the little girl had 
been his small sister, of whom he was very proud and 
to whom he was very devoted, he immediately re- 
sponded, ^^That he would want to know all about it 
and it would not be good for the fellow who did it." 
As soon as he saw the matter in this light, he was 
willing to tell what he knew about it. Of course he 
still acted largely from selfish motives, but he did 
comprehend the problem as a group matter; and 
this is the essential factor in appreciating team work. 

Pathological Cases. — The pathological cases com- 
monly fall under three headings. One is thoughtless- 
ness; through this the student indifferently commits 
some act against the school, or some member of it, 
not realizing the seriousness of the consequences in- 
volved. It has been estimated that more than 
seventy-five per cent of all pathological cases may be 
classified under this head. In a case of this kind, in 
general the only thing to be done is to have the 
pupil's attention called directly to the consequences 



210 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

of his act. He will be found willing to do anything 
he can to make everything right again; and that is 
about all that should be asked of him. To be sure, 
in some serious cases it may be necessary to take 
precautions to prevent the recurrence of these acts 
by himself or others. 

A second group of acts may come under the head- 
ing of ^^poor correlations.'^ By this we mean that 
the student does not see that a bad act has anything 
to do with the school in any way. He may not think 
of school jurisdiction at all, or he may consciously 
attempt to put himself outside it before acting. The 
author remembers a case in which a boy ran home 
after school and then came out on the street to make 
a disturbance with the school children passing, argu- 
ing that the school really had no control over him, 
since he had been home. It is common for students 
who are tardy or absent from school to urge the same 
reasons. Such students must be made to see that 
these offences, after all, do retard the work of the 
school and ultimately hinder its efficiency. A large 
per cent of them can be made to see this and will con- 
form to the rules necessary for good school work. 

A third group embraces examples of wilful dis- 
turbances. Such cases in organized community life 
are reducing themselves to the minimum. In most 
communities probably not five per cent of the cases 
in school pathology could be classed under this head. 
The old notion that it is a form of heroism pur- 
posely to cause the teacher or the school some 
trouble is rapidly passing out. But in some com- 
munities there are some parents and some misguided 
children who are willing to make trouble on any 
grounds. 

Sometimes pupils are unruly at school because 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 211 

they have been mistreated at home and come to 
school in such a bad humor as to defy the regulations 
of the school. The author remembers a case of a 
boy who came to school and made a disturbance in 
his schoolroom at once. On being questioned, he 
said that his father had whipped him before he started 
to school and he was angry, because he did not de- 
serve the punishment. Sometimes school children 
will destroy school property wilfully in order to 
make trouble for the teacher. I knew a schoolboy 
not long ago who threw a large stone through a win- 
dow and said he did it because he knew the teacher 
would have trouble about it. 

Punishments. — These extreme cases make it neces- 
sary for us to provide punishments for the offenders. 
It has been necessary in all ages to have society pro- 
vide suitable restrictions and punishments for its 
anti-social members. We should remember that in 
modern society the chief aim is to reform the of- 
fender, though of course we must protect society 
against the recurrence of the same offence by the 
same individual, or others holding the same attitude. 
In order to work any reformation in the offender he 
must be led to see the error of his action and, as far as 
possible, should come to the conclusion that such an 
act is undesirable on his part, or should be sorry for 
it. Commonly he will be ready to make such repa- 
ration as he can. A wise teacher will be able to settle 
most cases with these points in mind. There will 
still remain, however, some few cases which call for 
special treatment or punishment. 

Forms of Punishment. — A good deal has been made 
of the doctrine of natural punishment — that is, the 
punishment resulting from the natural consequences 
of the act — as advocated by Rousseau, Spencer, and 



212 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

others in the history of school discipline. It is de- 
sirable to keep in mind that natural punishment is a 
factor in the settlement of pathological cases, but it 
will not do to rely on it in all contingencies, because 
its results are often too long delayed and involve too 
many people. A punishment to be effective must 
always be certain and just; and sometimes it is de- 
sirable that it should be administered swiftly. A 
brief discussion of some of the more important forms 
of punishment may not be out of place. 

Conferences. — A direct conference of the teacher 
and the pupil with the parent present may be used 
with good results in many situations. 

Public Reproof. — It is possible sometimes to bring 
a student to realize the gravity of his offence by 
giving a public reproof, but this should be done with 
great discretion. 

Isolation. — Complete isolation of the offender from 
other members of the school and from school activ- 
ities may be used at times with good success. 

Keeping In. — ^^ Keeping in" from play or after 
school has been used or ^^ misused" for more school 
offences than any other form of punishment. This 
device should not be employed except in rare cases, 
for, whatever the offence may be, children need their 
recreation. 

Corporal Punishment. — Corporal punishment has 
been discussed with much earnestness and in many 
forums in recent years. The consensus of opinion is, 
undoubtedly, that it should be used in extreme cases 
only, with children who cannot be controlled in any 
other way. Great caution should be observed in its 
administration. If possible, the consent of the par- 
ents should be obtained before it is given; it is also 
desirable that the physical condition of the child 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 213 

should be ascertained before the punishment is ad- 
ministered, and in all cases the punishment should 
be witnessed by some other teacher or person, and 
a record made to cover the whole case. If parents 
are unwilling to have their children receive this pun- 
ishment, generally it is best not to use it. 

Demerits.— Numerous demerit and deportment 
schemes have been devised for school disciphne, but 
on the whole they are artificial and exceedmgly diffi- 
cult to administer. 

Loss of Privileges,— The loss of some of the school 
privileges may be made an effective means of con- 
trol, because it is a method in accord with the pro- 
cedure of society itself. In the home and society, it 
is common to have privileges taken away from us 
when we do not know how to use them properly. 

Expert Addce.— In the ward schools it is not un- 
usual for the room teacher to call in the principal to 
offer expert advice in aggravated breaches of con- 
duct; or the county superintendent may be called in 
for special cases in the rural school. This may be 
necessary or advisable for immature teachers, who 
do need, at times, expert advice. But on the whole 
the case should be settled by the room teacher, if 
possible, for the reason that the school and com- 
munity usually consider the teacher a partial failure 
if she must caU some one else in to solve her problems. 
>Siispension.— Suspension is an extreme form of loss 
of school privileges. Undoubtedly it is necessary at 
times, not ordinarily, that the pupil and the parents 
understand the gravity of the offence, but it should 
be used with great caution. 

Expulsion.— This is the most extreme form of pun- 
ishment which can be administered. The right to 
use it is not usually granted to the teacher, but del- 



214 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

egated to the school board. In the administration of 
it, the teacher is required to refer the case to the 
board for action. It should never be employed except 
for the most flagrant violation of some one or more 
of the school's fundamental interests. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. How does the author classify school discipline? 
Give several examples illustrating each kind. Under 
which heading does your school fall? 

2. What success has pupil government had in this 
country? What are its chief problems? 

3. What is the difference between self-government and 
pupil government? 

4. What constitutes good school discipline? 

5. What is the difference between an educated and an 
uneducated individual? 

6. What three special problems are to be kept in mind 
with reference to school discipline? Explain each 
fully. 

7. Can a person have one set of habits and ideals for 
school and a different set for life outside of the 
school? Explain. 

8. What is meant by the culture epoch theory? 

9. In what sense does the teacher stand in loco parentisf 

10. What are some organizations which make school dis- 
cipline more effective? How is this accomplished? 

11. Tell about some case of gross insubordination you 
have observed. How would you have handled it? 

12. Enumerate as many reasons as you can why children 
are unruly at school. 

13. Why does the school need to provide forms of school 
discipline? 



SCHOOL DISCIPLINE 215 

14. What are the essentials of effective school punish- 
ment? 

15. Name several practices in school punishments which 
cannot be justified in the light of the best educa- 
tional thought of the day. 

16. Is it wise for the teacher to use her personal influence 
to secure good conduct? Give good reasons. 

17. In any punishment is it desirable to undertake to 
break the will of the child? 

18. What are the dangers and values of the ''gang" in- 
stinct in boys? The ''chum" instinct in girls? 

19. How would you manage cases of fighting? 

20. When is tattling desirable? 

21. How many kinds of lying do children do? What 
should the school do about it? (See Morehouse: 
The Discipline of the School, pp. 141-144.) 

22. Tell how to manage cases of stealing, taking into 
account the principles set forth in this chapter; 
cheating; profanity; vandalism. 



READINGS. 

Bagley: School Discipline. 

Morehouse: The Discipline of the School. 



CHAPTER XVII. 

PERSONAL HYGIENE. 

Interest in Physical Welfare. — One of the most sig- 
nificant aspects of the present conservation move- 
ment is to be found in our increased attention to the 
problems of human welfare, though it is doubtful 
if we are as far along in our thinking in this matter 
as we are in some others. It is a hopeful sign, how- 
ever, that we are taking so much interest in physical 
education. We are just emerging from the antiquated 
theological notion that the body is the cause of al- 
most all our physical and moral limitations and for 
that reason should be kept in subjection. It is 
not desirable that we deify the human body, as the 
Greeks did, but we do need to recognize its relation 
to the spiritual nature and, with this in mind, to 
prepare for its important function. Moreover, we 
need to be keenly alive to the fact that the body 
must be a well-ordered machine if it is to bear up 
under the strain of modern society and do its share 
of the world's work. We may pity bodily weakness; 
society may provide means to alleviate human suf- 
fering; but we do not admire weakness, and our crav- 
ing for health and physical efficiency is one of the 
most fundamental of our human wants. 

Economic Losses from Preventable Diseases. — There 
are 100,000 deaths annually in the United States 
caused by tuberculosis, the ^^ great white plague," 
and about 1,000,000 people have the disease at pres- 
ent. On the economic side alone this means an 



PERSONAL HYGIENE 217 

annual loss of $500,000,000. Medical science has 
not yet found a specific cure for tuberculosis, after 
the disease has gotten past the incipient stages, but 
we know very well that it may be cured if taken m 
its beginning ; and we know that right habits of hving 
and proper sanitation do much to prevent it in the 
case of individuals who show any predisposition to- 
wards it. The school must be the organized agency to 
disseminate the information about this dreaded dis- 
ease, and, ultimately, this should be the means of 
stamping it out. The school-child should know how 
tuberculosis is spread, and how to live in order to 
build up a strong physical resistance against it. 
Typhoid fever costs us $200,000,000 annually, be- 
sides a loss of more than 25,000 lives. Malaria 
costs another $100,000,000 annually. 

Here we have the huge sum, arising from three 
diseases, which are practically preventable, of $800,- 
000,000. This sum is greater than the total amount 
spent on all forms of education in this country. 

The hook-worm disease, it has been roughly esti- 
mated, has more than 2,000,000 victims in the 
United States at the present time. This disease 
is restricted largely to the South, and in the main to 
working people, though no class is exempt. The 
economic loss from this disease has not been com- 
puted accurately, but it amounts to an enormous 
sum. If it halved the ordinary earning capacity of 
the 2,000,000 people it would mean an annual loss 
of from two to three hundred million dollars. 

The Use of Alcohol and Drugs.— There is no way to 
measure the great loss occasioned by the use of 
morphine, cocaine, tobacco, and alcohol. Undoubt- 
edly we are losing millions of dollars annually from 
indulgence in these habits. 



218 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

A well-known college professor has estimated the 
total annual economic loss from bad habits, prema- 
ture deaths, and preventable diseases at not less than 
two billion dollars, — a sum greater than our national 
debt. This of course is only the economic aspect of 
the problem, as we have no method of measuring 
the disappointment, suffering and sorrow incident 
to these conditions. In 1912, in the United States 
alone, there were 400,000 deaths of children before 
they had reached the age of one year, and, that same 
year, 65,000 children were born blind. In nearly 
all cases the blindness was due to either the ignorance 
or the moral turpitude of the parents. Verily, our 
greatest waste is that of humanity. Our ignorance 
and negligence in caring for human life, and espe- 
cially the human infant, is a national disgrace and 
shame. We know much more about the scientific 
care of fine cattle, hogs, and sheep than we do about 
the care of human beings. 

Defects Among School Children. — Some authorities 
have estimated that at least fourteen out of every 
twenty school children have one or more physical 
defects. This seems a large proportion, but a vast 
amount of data has been accumulated which tends 
to show that it is not at variance with the fact. 
This being the case, our problem is definite. We 
must begin with the school child at once to try to 
insure his more healthy development. We may not 
be able to do much for small children in the home 
for some time to come, but it is evident that we must 
at once take up the burden of securing health for 
school children. We need to provide for the normal 
growth of the child and to protect him against the 
contagious diseases incident to the school and school 
conditions. It seems self-evident that the child 



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PERSONAL HYGIENE 219 

should be kept in health and normal condition in 
order that he may do effectively the maximum 
amount of school work during the school period; 
moreover, that he may come to maturity in full 
vigor of manhood. 

Hygiene of Vision. — It has been said that we have 
many more eye defects in modern civilization than 
in the past, because we read more. This may be 
true. In any event, our continued use of it at 
short distances in artificial light is largely respon- 
sible for many eye troubles. The more common 
eye defects are hyperopia (far-sightedness), myopia 
(near-sightedness), astigmatism, cross-eye, and eye- 
strain. 

Tests have shown that from ten to forty per cent 
of school children have eye defects. Probably half of 
them are not very serious, but at least fifteen out of 
every one hundred children have such eye defects as 
should receive immediate attention by a trained ocu- 
list. The Snellen test card may be used successfully 
by any teacher to determine whether a child is short- 
sighted, far-sighted, or has astigmatism. After the 
test has been made the child, if a defect is found, 
should be required to go to a good oculist and have 
the necessary correction made. 

Parents, ordinarily, do not recognize the impor- 
tance of caring for the child's eyes; indeed, they do 
not know much about it. The author remembers a 
case where a child could not do its work well. An 
examination showed that the child was totally blind 
in one eye. The room teacher did not know about 
it and the parents had not the slightest suspicion 
that anything was wrong. A copy of the Snellen 
test is provided here, so that it may be taken out 
and attached to the wall for use. The sheet is a 



220 ELEMENTARY EDUCATIOISI 

duplicate of the one published by Rapeer in Educa- 
tional Hygiene. 

Hygiene of the Ear. — School children do not have as 
many ear defects as eye defects, yet ten to twenty 
children out of every one hundred have, to some ex- 
tent, defective hearing. The test for defective hear- 
ing is a simple one, the ordinary watch or whisper 
method being used. The whisper test requires a 
room twenty-five or thirty feet long. The lowest 
whisper should be understood at any point in this 
room, by persons of normal hearing. Each ear 
should be tested separately. As soon as defects are 
discovered, parents should be advised to take the 
child to a competent specialist. 

Hygiene of the Teeth. — Most parents have not 
thought it worth while to give the teeth of their 
children much attention. Toothache and decaying 
teeth are usually considered necessary evils of child- 
hood. Probably more than seventy-five per cent of 
our children suffer from diseased and decayed teeth. 
The suffering is bad enough, but when we have 
called to our attention the great danger from decay- 
ing teeth we realize the vital importance of caring 
for them. The decaying matter from the teeth 
passes into the stomach and intestines and is ab- 
sorbed into the system. The decayed tooth may 
become a breeding-place for typhoid, diphtheria, and 
other diseases. It often prevents the proper masti- 
cation of food, and no child can do its work with any 
degree of satisfaction or efficiency when it has the 
toothache. 

It ought not to be the teacher's business to look 
after this matter. Still, it is a matter of education 
to provide for the health of childhood, so the teacher 
must teach mouth hygiene and advise children and 



PERSONAL HYGIENE 221 

parents when the teeth seriously need attention. In 
the cities and towns, it will not be long before every 
child will have its teeth examined by a competent 
school dentist, once or twice a year. 

Hygiene of the Nose. — The most important school 
problems in personal hygiene are connected with the 
nose and throat. We know now that measles, 
mumps, whooping-cough, scarlet fever, typhoid, 
diphtheria, pneumonia, influenza, and the old-fash- 
ioned cold get into our system, in almost all cases, 
through the nasal passages and the throat. There- 
fore, it is important that the child be guarded as 
to these. Great care should be taken to prevent 
mouth-breathing, and to keep the tonsils healthy 
and thus guard against adenoids and catarrh. Chil- 
dren should be taught the value of correct habits of 
breathing and urged to get all the fresh air possible. 
In all cases of suspected disease of the respiratory 
system, the child should be sent home at once and 
not allowed to return to school without a physician's 
certificate. 

Nervousness. — The strenuousness of modern life 
produces much nervousness and malnutrition, and 
so is responsible for a great many nervous defects 
in children. Restlessness, hysteria, and even Saint 
Vitus 's^ dance, are not uncommon things among 
school children. While it is not possible for the school 
to care for all these conditions, yet it can be an im- 
portant aid in starting these children in the right 
habits of living. 

Speech Defects. — The two most common defects 
are stuttering and lisping. Unless the teacher has 
given some definite attention to these two defects 
she will probably not be able to cure them; indeed, 
they are problems of the specialist rather than the 



222 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

ordinary teacher. But, at all events, neither the 
teacher nor the school children should make fun of 
children who stutter or lisp. Habits of speaking 
slowly, and relief from any sort of nervous tension 
or strain during vocalization may help somewhat in 
mitigating the defects. 

Normal Growth. — In the case of school hygiene, as 
in the case of school discipline, we are apt to spend 
almost all of our time on its pathological aspects. 
We need to recognize clearly the positive aspects 
of the problem. So far we have given very little at- 
tention to the diet of children. They are fed in much 
the same way that are adults. No consideration 
has been given to the child's growth, and we are just 
beginning to recognize his need of fresh air. For a 
long time we thought a bad cold lurked in a draught 
of pure air. We know now that pure air is the great- 
est enemy of a bad cold. We are beginning to or- 
ganize play for children, so that they may grow and 
be happy at the same time. 

The school and society must be made to appreci- 
ate more clearly than they do now the fundamental 
value of right habits of living during the school 
period. The school must send us out good human 
machines, with fine lung capacity, good hearts, good 
digestion and good habits of assimilation. The 
school years are the child's habit-forming period; 
and if these habits be good they will constitute the 
largest individual and social asset of his later life. 
In the appendix to Rural School Houses and Grounds 
by Dresslar^ there is given a health program for 
country children. In some respects it is a program 
for country children alone, but nearly all of the items 

1 Dresslar: Rural School Houses and Grounds, Bulletin No. 12, 
U. S. Bureau of Education, 1914. 



PERSONAL HYGIENE 223 

apply with equal force to all children, whether they 
live in the country, the town, or city. Therefore, 
I am quoting the program in full, with the hope 
that it may fall into the hands of many thousands 
of teachers and, through them, become a creed for 
all children. 

LEST I FORGET. 

I believe that good health and a strong body are essential, 
and that the only real wealth is good health. In order that I 
may be strong and well, therefore, I will endeavor to observe the 
following rules of health. 

L I will keep my teeth clean by using my tooth-brush every 
day. 

2. I will drink no coffee or tea before I am twenty years of age, 
and no sort of alcoholic stimulants at any time in my life, 
unless ordered to do so by a physician. 

3. I will chew my food thoroughly. 

4. I will sleep at least nine hours each night in well-ventilated 
rooms winter and summer, or in an open-air sleeping-porch. 

5. I will bathe my whole body at least once a week and keep 
my face, hands, and nails clean. 

6. I will strive daily to acquire a habit of self-control, habits 
of anger being not only wrong but unhealthful. 

7. I will strive to help make my home as clean and sanitary 
as possible, especially to prevent contamination of the milk 
and drinking-water. 

8. I will do all I can to prevent the development of flies about 
the house in which I live, since they carry the germs of typhoid 
fever and other diseases. 

9. I will do all in my power to prevent mosquitoes from breed- 
ing in or about the house I live in. I will bury or destroy all 
old tin cans, barrels, or other vessels which catch and hold rain- 
water and offer a place for mosquitoes to breed. I will help to 
drain all stagnant pools near my home or put kerosene oil 
on them once every ten days during summer. 

10. I will try hard to kill rats and mice about my home, since 



224 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

they are both troublesome and dangerous, carrying, among 
other things, the bubonic plague, one of the most deadly of all 
diseases. 

11. I will do all in my power to help secure sanitary toilets 
throughout the whole neighborhood. 

12. I will strive to keep the back yard of my house as clean 
and tidy as a front yard should be kept. 

13. I will take no patent medicine, and will do all I can to 
teach people that most of it is both useless and harmful. 

14. I will keep my personal life clean and pure, for it is a 
duty I owe to myself and to all who live now and may live in the 
future. 

15. I will take good care of my eyes, taking special pains not 
to strain them by reading at night or in bad light. 

16. I will be careful about spitting, since disease is often spread 
in that way. 

17. I will do all I can to help make our schoolhouse more at- 
tractive and to keep it clean and neat at all times. 

18. I believe the best investment I can make for myself and 
my family is to invest in good health, a good education, and a 
clean, moral life. 

19. I will strive with all my power to make country life more 
healthful, more enjoyable, and more beautiful. I beheve life 
in the country is finer and better than life in any city. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Discuss the personal hygiene of the teacher. 

2. Name the communicable diseases, giving early symp- 
toms, and the precautions the school must observe. 

3. What are the common ailments? 

4. What is your community doing for the preservation 
of the health of school children? 

5. How does school life affect the eyes? 

6. What is the Snellen test for ascertaining defective 
vision? 

7. What are the common symptoms of eye strain? 



PERSONAL HYGIENE 225 

8. Explain the following methods for testing defective 
hearing : the watch test, the whisper test, the audi- 
ometer test. 

9. Show the importance of good teeth to health. 

10. What diseases affect the nose and throat? 

11. How does nervousness affect school work? 

12. What can the school do to prevent stuttering and 
lisping? 

13. How does malnutrition affect school work? 

14. Why do some cities undertake to feed school children? 

15. Tell about the precautions necessary to prevent con- 
tagion in cases of tuberculosis. 

16. What are the sources of infection in typhoid fever? 

17. What precaution should be observed to prevent its 
communication to other members of the family or 
community? 

18. Do you think the sleeping-porch is a fad? Give 
reasons. 

19. Mention the important conditions necessary for a 
sanitary sleeping-room. 

20. Describe 'the open-air school. What results are 
claimed for it? 

READINGS. 

Cornell: The Health and Medical Inspection of School 

Children. 
Heck: The Health of the School Child. Bulletin No. 4, 

U. S. Bureau of Education, 1915. 
Hoag & Terman : Health Work in Schools. 
Gulick & Ayers: Medical Inspection. 
Terman : The Hygiene of the School Child. 



CHAPTER XVIII. 

PLAY AND RECREATION. 

The author has had the privilege of spending a 
Fourth of July in Boston, in Chicago, in St. Louis, 
and in Kansas City. In each case the day was spent 
in a careful observation of the people as they were 
taking a holiday, on street cars, in the streets or 
yards, in museums, public parks, and baseball 
parks. As far as possible, all the forms of recreation 
and amusement were noted. It has been his privi- 
lege also to spend a number of Fourths of July in 
smaller towns, and several have been spent out in 
the country. From all these experiences has resulted 
the deep conviction that the American people have 
very little capacity to spend this great national holi- 
day in a way to bring any considerable amount of 
real pleasure to themselves or their fellows. 

Thousands of men, women, and children appeared 
more worn than if they had toiled at their ordinary 
work; and, worse still, many thousands of men and 
some women had no better means of enjoyment than 
to spend the day gambling, getting drunk, and even 
fighting. One universal fact was that all these 
people were trying to find suitable play or recrea- 
tion. But the American people have not been edu- 
cated to know what to do with their leisure, or, in 
other words, how to play. Space does not permit us 
to recount the history of the instinct of play, but 
even the casual student of history is aware of it as 
it has expressed itself in various forms in primitive 



PLAY AND RECREATION 227 

man; in classical Greek games; in the Roman am- 
phitheater; by the medieval knight, or by the 
modern baseball or football player. 

The Value of Play. — On the biological side, we rec- 
ognize play as valuable in providing for growth and 
proper physical adjustments. We regard it also as 
prerequisite training for skill in certain vocations, 
and as a factor in moral development. In all ages 
it has been used to teach fair play, co-operation, and 
the value of clean living. First, we have the plays of 
the home; second, the school plays and games; 
third, the- community plays and recreations. 

Plays of the Home. — Some of the plays of the 
home may be carried on indoors. A wise mother 
can do much toward the proper direction of the in- 
door play of small children. Suitable toys should be 
selected for the children. Furthermore, story-telling 
and dramatization may be used by some member of 
the household who has sufficient time and ability to 
direct the work. Unquestionably, there are educa- 
tional values in all three of these activities. How- 
ever, it is pro'bable that the outdoor recreations are 
more important than these. The children should 
have wagons, sleds, balls^ bats, swings, play-houses, 
and pets. Every small boy should have the privilege 
of going hunting, fishing, and ''fighting bumblebees" 
a few times; and both boys and girls should learn to 
skate and swim. 

School Games and Recreations. — Story-telling and 
dramatization should be conducted as school indoor 
exercises. There are many kinds of clubs which the 
boys and girls form for both indoor and outdoor 
pleasure. These are commonly connected with the 
school. It is very important that the school should 
have a good playground equipment, including 



228 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

swings, slides, horizontal bars, volley-ball equip- 
ment, basket-ball and baseball material. 

Suitable Games. — 1. Volley Ball. One of the very 
best games for rural schools, and town schools as 
well, is volley ball. The rules are exceedingly simple, 
the space required for the game is small, and it may 
be played by a large number of children. It is good 
exercise, as it requires swift movements, and the 
arms are stretched upward, giving the vital organs 
the right kind of exercise. It is a good game, too, for 
small children, because there is practically no danger 
of injury connected with the playing of it. So little 
is known about the game that I quote in full some 
directions given by Bancroft,^ which will enable the 
ordinary teacher to put the game on without much 
trouble. 

Volley Ball. 

2 to 30 players. 

Playground; gymnasium. 

This game consists in keeping a large ball in motion back 
and forth across a high net by striking it with the open palm. 
The ball must not be allowed to touch the floor. 

Ground. — For large teams this game should be played on a 
ground measuring fifty feet long and twenty-five feet wide. 
For smaller teams a smaller ground will answer. A tennis net, 
or net two feet wide, preferably the latter, is stretched across the 
center of the ground, from side to side, extending one or two 
feet bej^ond the boundaries on either side. The upper edge 
should be from six feet six inches to seven feet six inches above 
the ground. 

Players. — Any number of players up to thirty may play. 
The players are evenly divided into two parties, which scatter 

^ Jessie H. Bancroft: Games for the Playground, Ho7Jie, School, and 
Gymnasium, pp. 413-416. 



PLAY AND RECREATION 



229 



25 ft. 



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above ground ia center 



over their re- 
spective courts 
without special 
arrangement. 
There is a cap- 
tain for each 
side. An um- 
pire is desi- 
rable. 

Object of the 
game.— The ob- 
ject of the game 
for each party 
is to keep the 
ball in Hvely 
play toward its 
opponents' d 
court, as each g 
party scores 
only on its op- 
ponents' failure 
to return the 
ball or keep it 
in the air. 

The ball is 
put in play by 
being served 
by the party 
which is to 
score. The ser- 
vice of the ball, 
and with it the 
privilege of 
scoring, pass to 

the opponents according to the rules described hereinafter. 
Start: Rules for service— The ball is put in play by being 
served by a member of one side, who should stand at the rear of 
his court with one foot on the rear boundary line and the other 
behind the line. From this position the ball is tossed upward 



230 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

lightly from one hand and batted with the palm of the other hand 
toward or into the opponents' court. 

Each server has two trials in which to send the ball into the 
opponents' court. The service being over a long course with a 
comparatively heavy ball, the following privileges are allowed: 
a served ball may be assisted on its course by any two other 
players on the server's side; no player so assisting the ball on 
the serve may strike it more than twice in succession, and the 
server under such circumstances may not strike it more than 
once; but should the ball then fail to land in the opponents' 
court, the server loses his second serve. 

In serving, the ball must be batted at least ten feet by the 
server before being touched by any other player on his side. 

No ''dribbhng" is allowed in serving. 

A successful server continues serving until his side allows the 
ball to touch the floor, knocks it out of bounds, or fails to return 
it to the opponents. A server may also lose as follows: 

If a returned ball hits a player on the server's side and bounces 
into the opponents' court, it is considered in play. If it hits such 
a player and does not bounce into the opponents' court, the 
server is out, losing his second trial. 

If the ball hits the net during service, it is counted a dead 
ball and loses the server one of his trials. 

If a served ball falls outside the opponents' court, the server 
loses his turn. 

The players on a side take turns in serving. 

Rules of play. — The ball must always be batted with the open 
palm. The ball should be returned by the opponents before it 
can strike the ground. Any number of players may strike the 
ball to send it across the net, but no player may strike more than 
twice in succession. Having struck the ball twice, a player 
may resume his play only after some other player has struck it. 
The ball is thus volleyed back and forth across the net until one 
side fails to return it or allows it to touch the floor, or until it 
goes out of bounds. A ball is put out of play by hitting the net 
in returning after a serve. A ball which bounds back into the 
court after striking any other object except the floor or ceiling 
is still in play. It is permissible to strike the ball with both 
hands at once (open palms). 



PLAY AND RECREATION 231 

If a player touches the net at any time, the ball is thereby out 
Df play. Should this player be on the serving side, his side 
loses the ball and it goes to the opponents. Should this player 
be on the receiving side, the serving side scores one point. 
Should the net be touched simultaneously by opponents, the 
ball is thereby put out of play and the serving side serves again. 

No dribbling is allowed at any time through the game; i. e., no 
keeping the ball in the air by one player hitting it quickly and 
repeatedly. 

In sending the ball across the net, players should aim for an 
unprotected part of the opponents' court, or try in other ways to 
place them at a disadvantage. 

Score. — This is entirely a defensive game, the score being 
made on opponents' fouls and failures. Aside from fouls, only 
the serving side scores. A good serve unrcturned scores one 
point for the serving side. A point is similarly scored by the 
serving side at any time when the opponents fail to return a 
ball which is in play. Failure of the serving side to return a ball 
to the opponents' court merely puts them out; that is, the 
serve passes to the opponents, but no score is made on the failure. 
Should a player touching the net be on the receiving side, the 
serving side scores one point. A ball sent under the net is 
out of play and counts against the side which last struck it, 
their opponents^ scoring one point. If the ball strikes any 
object outside the court and bounds back, although it is still 
in play, it is counted against the side which struck it out, their 
opponents scoring one point. A ball sent out of bounds by the 
receiving side in returning a service scores one point for the 
serving side. One point is scored for the opponents whenever 
a player catches the ball, or holds it for even an instant. The 
game consists of twenty-one points. 

2. Tether Ball. — Tether ball is a very superior game 
for two people, and it may be played by more. The 
directions are quite simple and the equipment is 
inexpensive. I quote from Bancroft ^ again con- 
cerning this game: 

^ Bancroft : Gatnes for the Playground, Home, School, and Gym- 
nasium, pp. 409-411. 



232 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Tether Ball. 

2 to 8 players. 
Out of doors. 

This is one of the most dehghtful and vigorous games, espe- 
cially adapted to small playing space, a plot twenty feet square 
being enough for it. The paraphernalia for the game consists 
of a wooden pole placed upright, so that it shall stand ten feet 
above the ground. The pole must be embedded deeply enough 
to be perfectly firm during the strain of play. It will probably 
need to be about three feet below the surface. A pole should 
measure seven and a half inches in circumference at the ground, 
and should taper toward its upper end. A black stripe should 
be painted around it six feet above the ground. 

To the top of this pole a ball is attached by a stout linen cord 
or fishing line. The ball should be preferably a tennis ball, and 
should have a netted cover, by means of which it is attached to 
the cord. No metal should be used around it in any way. The 
cover may be knotted or crocheted of heavy hnen cord or fish 
line. When hanging at rest, the ball should be seven and a half 
feet from the top of the pole, and two and a half feet from the 
ground. The ball is played upon by tennis rackets in the 
hands of two players. 

A tether-ball outfit, consisting of pole, ball, cord, and marking 
ropes, with staples for the ground as hereinafter specified, may 
be had for from three to four dollars, the ball alone, with cover 
and cord, costing about seventy-five cents, and the pole from 
one dollar to a dollar and a half. It is particularly desirable to 
have the specially made ball and cord for this game, but any of 
the paraphernalia may be improvised, the pole being cut from a 
sapling, and even the bats whittled from strips of thin board 
about the size of a shingle. 

On the ground around the pole a circle should be drawn three 
feet in radius; that is, six feet in diameter. A straight line 
twenty feet in length should bisect the circle to separate the 
territory for the players. In addition to the circle and line, two 
spots should be marked on the ground, from which the ball is 
served. These should be at the ends of an imaginary line crossing 
the first line at right angles, and should be six feet from the 
pole, one on each side of the ground. 



PLAY AND RECREATION 233 

Where there are more than two players, they are divided 
into two opposing groups, each member of a team or group 
stepping forward, in turn, to play with the member of the 
opposite team. Only these two play upon the ball during one 
game. 

The game consists, on the part of one player, in trying to 
wind the cord with the ball attached around the pole above the 
Hne by batting it with his tennis racket. The opponent tries 
(1) to interfere and reverse the action of the ball by batting it 
in the opposite direction, and (2) for his part to wind the ball 
around the pole in his direction. 

The players toss rackets or resort to some other method of 
choosing sides of the ground. The game starts with each 
player on his service point; the player who lost in the toss for 
choice of ground has the first service. The player who has the 
choice of ground has also the choice of direction in which to 
wind the ball. 

The ball is then put in play by the server, who may hit the ball 
but once. Should he fail to send it across the line with his 
first serve, he loses his serve and the opposite player has the ball. 
The players have each one strike at the ball in turn. It is some- 
times possible to send the ball so high and with so much force 
that it will wind around the pole in one stroke, before the 
opponent can hit it with his racket. Of course such strokes 
should be the endeavor of both sides. 

Should a player fail to hit the ball, the opponent has the next 
turn, either on service or after the ball is once in play. 

Each player must keep entirely on his own side of the 
dividing line with his feet, his arms, and his racket. Neither 
player may step on or over the circle about the pole. If the 
string winds around the handle of a racket of one of the players, 
it is a foul. It is also a foul for the string to wind about the pole 
below the black mark, and counts against the player in whose 
direction it is wound; that is, if it winds in the direction in which 
he is trying to send the ball. Penalty for transgression of any 
of the above rules (fouls) is allowing the opponent a free hit 
from his service mark. When a ball is taken for service in this 
way, if it has to be either wound or unwound on the pole a half- 
turn, so as to reach the other side, it shall be unwound. 



234 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

The game is won when the string has been entirely wound 
around the pole above the hmit hne. When there are but two 
players, the one wins who has the majority out of eleven games. 
Where there are more than two players, the team wins which 
has the greatest number of games to its credit at the end of 
from two to five rounds, as may be decided at the opening of the 
series. 

3. Tennis. — Tennis is a superior game for two or 
four people, but it takes a great deal of time and it 
is somewhat difficult to find good courts and keep 
them in condition. It is, however, an ideal exercise, 
for the reason that it requires the players to assume 
almost all possible positions. 

4. Basket-Bail. — Basket-ball is an excellent game 
for both boys and girls, although unless it is quite 
well supervised it is somewhat rough for girls. It is 
a very violent exercise, no matter what rules are in 
use. It is both an outdoor and indoor game, and this 
is a decided advantage. At present it is probably the 
most popular school game, although there is no 
reason why volley ball might not become fully as 
popular if children were taught to play it. 

5. Corner Ball. — Another fine ball game, which may 
be engaged in by any number of pla^^ers at one time, 
is corner ball. The rules are simple; it requires no 
equipment except a basket ball or volley ball, and 
it is fine exercise. Bancroft ^ gives a very simple 
direction concerning the game, as follows: 

Corner Ball. 

10 to 30 or more players. 
Playground; gymnasium. 

Ground. — The ground is marked off into a space measuring 

1 Bancroft: Games for the Playground, Home, School, and Gym- 
nasium, pp. 359, 360. 



PLAY AND RECREATION 



235 



at least twenty-five by thirty feet. This is divided across the 
center by a straight hne. In the farther corners of each half so 
made, a small square goal is marked out, there being two such 
goals in each 
court. 

Players. — The 
players are di- 
vided into two 
even parties, 
each of which 
takes position on 
one side of the 
ground and sta- 
tions a goal man 
in each of the 
goals at the rear 
of the opposite 
side. 

Object. — The 
object of the 
game is to throw 
the ball over the 
heads of the op- 
posing party td 
one's own goal men, who are at the rear of the opponents' 
court. 

Rules and points of play. — The players on each side are not 
bound to any special territory within their own court, but will 
naturally see that each of the goals at their rear is well pro- 
tected, and will try to intercept the ball before it can reach these 
goals. They will also, of course, try to throw the ball over the 
opposing party to their own goal men in the opposite court. 
No player may cross the line which divides the two halves of the 
ground. The goal men may not step outside of their goals. 
Any ball caught in this way fails to score. No opponent may 
step inside of a goal. When a goal man catches a ball, he 
must at once throw it back, trying of course to get it to his 
own Darty over the heads of the opponents, who try to intercept 
it. 











xxxxxxxxxx 


0000000000 


X 




X 



236 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Score, — Every ball caught by a goal man scores one for the 
party throwing. The side first scoring twenty points wins the 
game. 

6. Baseball. — Baseball is doubtless our most 
popular game for boys, but usually it cannot be 
played in rural schools, because there are not enough 
large boys to make two good teams; and in the ele- 
mentary schools in the city and town a playground 
large enough for the sport is a rare thing. 

7. Indoor Baseball. — Indoor baseball is another 
game which might be introduced in rural schools 
everywhere. It may be played either by boys or 
girls or by both boys and girls playing together. 
The equipment is inexpensive and the rules are quite 
simple. It gives good exercise in running, but on 
the w^hole is not a very violent game. The rules are 
too long to be quoted here. The teacher should 
secure a Spalding Guide for this game. 

Clubs. — The gregariousness of the adolescent boy 
and girl is well known to all students of pedagogy. 
It manifests itself in the games mentioned above, 
but at the present moment it is receiving its merited 
attention in the form of boys' and girls' clubs of all 
kinds. Among the important ones may be men- 
tioned: agriculture clubs, corn-growing clubs for 
boys, canning clubs for girls, stock- judging teams 
for boys, fancy-work clubs for girls. The Boy Scouts, 
The Campfire Girls, and reading clubs. The school- 
house should be the center from which this club 
work radiates, and the teacher, or some other wise 
lover of children, should be a sympathetic director 
for all of these activities. 

Community Recreation. — Grown people need rec- 
reation quite as much as children, no matter whether 
they reside in some lonely, isolated countryside or 



PLAY AND RECREATION 237 

in some great throbbing city. At tlie present moment 
nearly all large cities spend thousands of dollars for 
recreation purposes, the city of Chicago being pos- 
sibly the leader in this movement. Some of the work 
is done in connection with the public schools and 
some in special buildings or in the cities great 
oarks The work is well started in a dozen Amer- 
ican cities, but it is only started, for there are still 
thousands of people who are not reached by the 
movement, many of whom need it most. Very 
little has been done in the towns and sma ler cities 
of the country, and almost nothing m rural hfe. Ihe 
farmer and the farmer's wife need recreation as 
much as any members of society. The need grows 
out of the fact that their work is hard; they live 
in isolation and they also have, at certain seasons 
of the year, a great deal of leisure. Farmers and 
their wives should have a good opportunity to play 
in winter, for the summer is a very busy season, 
though not all of it should be given to work The 
city man usually plays more in summer than in 

"^ The" one most in need of recreation in rural life 
is the farm woman, because her isolation is much 
greater than that of the man. He can run away 
and go to town or find excuses to go to the neighbors 
but the woman must stay about the household 
duties. She needs time to read; she needs a vacation 
and an opportunity for social intercourse with her 
fellow-workers; she should have this for protection 
against nerves and ennui. The community tasks which 
bring women together are no longer household tasks 
therefore it becomes necessary to find other motives 
for the organization of the women of the community. 
The Hesperia movement, which is well orgamzed m 



238 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Michigan, is a sort of a ^^ community interest club" 
not unlike the parent-teacher organizations. It in- 
cludes the women, so do the parent-teacher associa- 
tions, and the various mothers' clubs have specific 
values. All of these movements are sporadic. Here 
and there throughout the country are very good 
women's organizations for various purposes. 

Some day we will be wise enough to make the 
schoolhouse a center for this work. It will need to 
be a much better building than we have now, and 
the community served should be larger than that 
of a school district. A good consohdated school, 
with modern equipment, including a library and a 
good assembly room, would do much to provide 
for the recreation of both men and women in rural 
life. This should be the meeting-place for the 
women's clubs, literary societies, and grange meet- 
ings, and serve for holding farmers' institutes, farm- 
product exhibitions, home-product shows, special 
lectures, moving-picture shows, and musical enter- 
tainments. If the campus had a suitable play- 
ground, it could be used for track meets, tennis 
tournaments, and baseball games during the summer 
months. Grown people enjoy and need these about 
as much as do the young people. 

The foregoing presents no simple problem, but 
calls for leadership and organization. For the pres- 
ent the teacher needs such training as will help in 
the movement, for it will be some time before we 
are so thoroughly aware of the value of all this as 
to have trained leaders for the work. The task is 
big, but it is significant and tremendously worth 
while; especially in rural life are the issues great, 
because the success of democracy in this great coun- 
try is dependent upon an intelligent citizenship 



PLAY AND RECREATION 239 

which knows how to learn and to co-operate, — to 
work and to play. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. What training have the people of the United States 
for enjoying their holidays? 

2. Did the ancient Greeks understand the value of play 
better than do the American people? What makes 
you think so? 

3. What are some of the ways in which the play in- 
stincts have asserted themselves in various ages of 
the world's history? 

4. How do plays and games for the home, school, and 
community differ? 

5. Name and explain several suitable outdoor games for 
school; indoor school games. 

6. State the value of clubs to school boys and girls. 
What is your community doing in these respects? 

7. What is nieant by a wider use of the school plant? 
Show how this idea is growing. 

8. State some vital problems confronting the rural 
church and the rural school. How shall these 
problems be solved? 

9. What specific training have you received in school 
to provide for your leisure time? 

10. Suggest a suitable list of games for rest and recre- 
ation for adults in your community. 

IL Do you know of a school plant which is used as a 
social center? Tell about its activities. 

12. Explain the Hesperia movement. 

13. Tell about the work of the reorganized Grange. 

14. Find out about the values of the old-time barn 



240 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

raisings; corn huskings; singing schools; spelling 
matches; quilting parties. 



READINGS. 

Bancroft: Games for the Playground, Home, School, and 

Gymnasium. 
Corr : The Survival Values of Play. 
Curtis : Play and Recreation. 
Curtis: Education and Play. 
Johnson: Education by Plays and Games. 
Scott: Social Education, Chap. IV.-VII. 



CHAPTER XIX. 

MORAL TRAINING. 

Since the advent of Herbartian psychology and 
pedagogy, it has been recognized that the chief aim, 
or one of the important aims, of the school is the 
formation of good moral character. It has often 
been stated, also, that good citizenship is the funda- 
mental aim of the school. This is the same, in the 
main, as the formation of character, because we 
measure citizenship in terms of morality. Though 
we have insisted on these things as the chief aims of 
the school, the fact still remains that the school has 
largely given its attention to intellectual achieve- 
ments. Indeed, school practice at present is given 
over almost completely to intellectual tasks of one 
kind or another, and few tests are made to determine 
whether the theories of life furnished in these intel- 
lectual activities can ever be made to function in 
conduct. 

Methods of Teaching Morals.— It may be said that 
there are possibly three theories concerning the way 
in which moral training may be given. The first 
and the oldest one is that a definite body of prin- 
ciples or problems should be memorized or learned 
by the student. In some countries and in some 
states of the American Union, we have this form of 
moral training worked out in great detail. But this 
method can never meet the requirements of the case. 
It rests on an antiquated psychology which ignores 
the principles of habit formation in connection with 



242 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

• 

any form of character building. No doubt it is pos- 
sible for theory to precede practice in many impor- 
tant phases of learning, but there needs to be an in- 
timate connection between the two, and, even if a 
principle is stated, many special kinds of application 
must come under the principle if habits are to be 
formed. A recent study shows that nearly every 
man in a certain penitentiary who had been sent up 
for burglary, or stealing in any form, knew the com- 
mandment against stealing, but the theory which he 
had learned had never been functioned in enough 
special habits to prevent him from taking the prop- 
erty of others. It is doubtful if any syllabus on the 
subject of moral training, no matter how elaborate 
and perfect, can ever be used alone to great advan- 
tage. 

The second theory concerning moral training is 
that it should be given incidentally in connection 
with the various subjects of the curriculum and with 
the organization and discipline of the school and in 
the whole range of the social and play activities of 
the school group. This theory has the advantage of 
furnishing an unlimited number of concrete situa- 
tions for activity and habit formation. However, a 
great difficulty grows out of the fact that a thing 
which is placed in the incidental column of school 
interest commonly receives little or no consideration, 
and this is true concerning moral training in most 
elementary public schools. 

The third theory regarding moral training is that 
a somewhat well-defined group of principles should 
be stated with a very positive effort on the part of 
the school to supply a great many concrete situations 
to work these principles into habits of conduct which 
shall ultimately make up the fundamentals of char- 



• MORAL TRAINING 243 

acter. This is the basis on which the problem must 
find its final solution. It will be observed that the 
author does not take into account mere negative 
forms of training, because he does not believe there 
is value in merely keeping children from doing im- 
moral things. True morality and character are not 
the results of refraining from bad or immoral ac- 
tions. Let us discuss some of the important school 
situations and try to discover their value for moral 
training. 

The Discipline of the School. — In Chapter XVI. a 
somewhat detailed discussion of discipline is given. 
The general purpose of that discussion is to point 
out the value of school discipline as an agency for 
developing right habits. Great emphasis is there 
put upon discipline as presenting, in a very im- 
portant way, the doing side of school life and mak- 
ing out of it constructive material for the social 
welfare. 

Cumculum for Ideals. — Undoubtedly the whole 
curriculum of the school should be used in such a 
way as to furnish principles and ideals for habit and 
character formation. When tested by this principle 
much of the material of the elementary school cur- 
riculum makes a bad showing. It is good only for 
memory and uninteresting drill. Very much of it is 
^'dead wood,'' and should be cut out. 

The kind of history, geography, language, and lit- 
erature work out of which moral values may come 
must be full of human interest and not an accumu- 
lation of facts. They must present up-to-date, live 
situations. It is time to do away with much of the 
old fact material of history, the fact-and-place ma- 
terial of geography, and much of the so-called classic 
literary material in reading, language, and liter- 



244 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

ature studies, if we expect to get moral results out of 
these subjects. 

Nature-study work and agriculture should be used 
to furnish doing situations; not theories nor hy- 
potheses about these subjects taken from textbooks, 
but the real stuff out of doors, in the schoolyard, the 
garden, and the fields. In manual training and house- 
hold arts abundant opportunity is afforded to carry 
on this kind of work. 

Of the fine arts, music and drawing afford a large 
measure of worth for moral training. The accuracy 
demanded for drawing, which involves certain habits 
of doing, gives concrete evidence for measuring the 
efficiency with which the task has been done. We 
know very well the great value of music as a factor 
in control of the spiritual life of both the child and 
the adult. The late Will L. Tomlins claimed, ear- 
nestly, before the Department of Superintendence 
in Chicago, a few years ago, that music offers a greater 
opportunity for moral training than any other sub- 
ject in either the elementary or high-school curricu- 
lum. He may have overstated the case somewhat, 
but certainly we have not utilized this material as it 
should be for this purpose. We know how the play- 
ing of some popular air by a band affects a whole 
crowd, and how the fine presentation of an opera 
or oratorio will thrill an audience of ten thousand 
people. The author heard one of America's greatest 
artists sing ^'Home, Sweet Home" to an audience, 
and he will never forget the effect, the marvelous 
effect, of that simple little melody. The teacher 
in an elementary school should recognize the great 
worth of music in the formation of the child's char- 
acter, and should make a critical examination of 
selections adapted to various occasions. 



MORAL TRAINING 245 

School Tasks. — All school tasks have moral value 
in that they represent work which makes for char- 
acter. The way in which these tasks are performed 
is not a matter of small concern, for the school or 
society, because in the doing of them habits of 
punctuality, industry, honesty, thoroughness, neat- 
ness, self-control and co-operation are being es- 
tablished. These habits are worth while for success 
in school; they are the very stuff out of which suc- 
cess in life is made. Moreover, it is important that 
the school tasks should be set and carried out in 
such a way that it will be evident to the child that 
they do have a bearing on life itself and that they 
are not for school only. 

School Activities. — Large moral values are attached 
to the '^ special-day" programs which may be ren- 
dered by the school. Among the more important 
are the observance of Labor Day, Columbus Day, 
Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, Lincoln's Birth- 
day, Washington's Birthday, Arbor Day, and, if the 
school is in session, the Fourth of July. All of these 
days should serve as opportunities for inculcating 
great moral lessons. 

Another special opportunity for moral growth 
can be found in the numerous club organizations 
which are possible for both rural and town life. 
Some of the more important of these are boys' clubs 
for corn-growing, stock-judging, and debating, and 
the Young Men's Christian Association. For girls: 
canning clubs, sewing clubs, reading clubs, and the 
Young Women's Christian Association. All of these 
clubs may be organized in such a way as to provide 
fine opportunities for co-operation for personal and 
community betterment. 

In a former chapter we have discussed at length 



246 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the subject of recreation with a large emphasis on 
plays and games. There is no more valuable op- 
portunity for teaching right conduct than is to be 
found in games. They represent ^^ doing" situations 
in which co-operation, fair play, and self-control may 
be developed. In many respects a good baseball 
game affords the best possible opportunity for teach- 
ing moral lessons. The misplay of a single individual 
may lose the game; in which case it is very evident 
that, even though but one person made the error, 
the whole team shared in the loss. This is a fine 
moral lesson which we all have learned in many 
different situations in our complex institutional life. 

The Teacher. — The personality, example, and sym- 
pathy of the teacher are factors in the moral develop- 
ment of children. We would be glad, no doubt, to 
escape this large responsibility if we could, but the 
instinctive capacity for imitation asserts itself with 
small children, and even on into the period of ado- 
lescence, in such a way as to make the spirit and life 
of the teacher a tremendous factor in the develop- 
ment of the child. 

One or two studies have been made on this prob- 
lem with respect to the influence of the teacher on 
the adolescent, and the results have uniformly borne 
out the idea that the teacher's influence for good or 
evil is very significant. 

Schoolroom and Equipment. — We are beginning to 
learn that the actual environment of the child has 
much to do with the moral fiber of its life; therefore, 
the convenience, comfort, and decoration of a school- 
room may have much to do with influencing his 
character. Schoolroom equipment may also be im- 
portant in this matter, because it tends to make the 
school work complete, interesting, and effective. In 



MORAL TRAINING 247 

all ages we have recognized the value of Nature in 
influencing the life of man, therefore school grounds 
which have been planned in a way to appeal to the 
sense of beauty will have moral worth. 

Home Tasks. — It is not possible for the school to 
furnish all the action necessary for moral growth. 
Much of this must be furnished by the home or so- 
ciety; therefore it is highly desirable that full and 
complete co-operation in this matter should obtain 
between the school and the home. In a good many 
schools we now have what is known as the ''home 
project" plan in which children do tasks at home and 
receive credit at school. This is important from 
several points of view. 

First, the school and the home come into co- 
operation, a thing which has not been done any too 
well in times past. Moreover, the parent comes to 
consider the work of the child of more importance in 
this way than if the home task is a mere incidental. 
Recently the attention of the author was called to a 
grade card on which a number of home tasks were 
listed, with the request that the parent give a grade 
on the faithfulness and thoroughness with which the 
tasks were done at home. At the end of the first 
month the mother complained that she did not know 
what grade she should give her daughter, as the task 
had not always been done well and sometimes had 
not been done at all. The teacher informed her that 
was the way things were done at school and also in 
life, and asked her to make a more careful super- 
vision the next month. The result was that the 
daughter learned to do her tasks with punctuality 
and a large measure of thoroughness. 

The writer knows a boy who was given certain 
definite home tasks in the fall. These were daily 



248 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

tasks and were at first performed with considerable 
indifference and sometimes actual protest on his part, 
but after his grades had been reported to school, and 
the youngster was made to feel that home work was 
as important as anything he was doing at school, or 
perhaps more so, he made a marked improvement in 
thoroughness and willingness to master the tasks. 
These are but examples, of which hundreds might 
be cited. Graded home work is very simple in rural 
life, as there the tasks for children are definite, but 
it is not so easy in towns, or in great cities, because 
many times there are no suitable tasks for the 
children. 

The Doctrine of Interest. — We need to remember 
that in all moral training, advancement comes to 
us when we recognize the value, or values, in the 
tasks we are trying to complete. It seems to me 
that in no other situation has the old psychology per- 
sisted longer than in the matter of moral training. 
We have thought that in doing disagreeable things 
and in certain prohibitions there is moral disciphne. 
This is absurd in the light of modern psychology. 
Results are secured and the maximum amount of 
effort put forth when children, as well as grown peo- 
ple, are able to recognize important values in the 
tasks proposed for work; moral training is no excep- 
tion to this rule. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Compare the influence of the home and the school in 
developing the moral character of the child. 

2. How can moral character best be developed? 

3. How does theory influence character building? 



MORAL TRAINING 249 

4. Set up several definite school situations which make 
for tne development of moral character. 

5. Does restraining one from immoral action have much 
value in moral character building? 

6. Can there be real virtue without activity? 

7. What kind of historical material is most valuable in 
building moral character? 

8. Give the chief reasons for having music as an inte- 
gral part of every school curriculum. 

9. Give arguments against making school tasks too easy. 

10. Distinguish by illustration between positive and neg- 
ative morality. 

11. Point out the values of school games in teaching right 
conduct. 

12. Why should every teacher possess a good moral 
character? 

13. Show how the aesthetic situations of the school in 
matters of good landscape, good architecture, good 
decoration, and good apparatus profoundly influence 
character. 

14. Will doin'g a disagreeable task give moral training? 
Give reasons for your answer. 

15. How much moral training may be provided by the 
school setting home projects for which it gives school 
credit? Make a list of some such projects. 

16. How much moral value attaches to memorizing the 
Golden Rule and other such principles? 

READINGS. 

California Prize Essays. 

Dewey : Moral Principles of Education. 

Griggs : Moral Education. 



CHAPTER XX. 

VOCATIONAL EDUCATION. 

Changes in Society. — Ours is the most complex 
social and economic order in the whole history of 
the race; and yet in America we do less today 
toward the proper guidance of the youth to find suit- 
able occupation than in any other time of our his- 
tory. Certainly we do less than any other modern 
nation. Formerly the household was largely the 
center of economic and social activities. The mother 
made the wearing apparel for her husband, herself, 
and the children. We do not have to go back many 
years to find her beginning with the raw material, 
such as wool, cotton, and the flax. In the summer 
she preserved and canned the fruits and vegetables 
necessary for the winter season. She made the but- 
ter and baked the bread; indeed, the household was 
a real manufacturing center, with the children know- 
ing the processes and co-operating in the work. In 
many respects this constituted a good apprentice- 
ship. Moreover, it involved the personal element, 
with love and affection included, for the mother was 
interested in the efficiency of her own children. The 
father, also, shared in this work, because he produced 
the raw material outdoors. Besides, he had his own 
specific tasks, such as killing and curing the meats, 
gathering and storing the fruits and vegetables. 
The sons co-operated with him in much the same 
way as did the girls with the mother in the house- 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 251 

hold. In a large measure now this condition is 
changed. No longer is the household the center of 
such activities. We have the factory system outside 
the household and we are in comparative ignorance 
of its processes and organization. 

The Elimination of Waste.— These radical changes 
have come about because of our extreme specializa- 
tion in the matter of work and production. Un- 
doubtedly all specialization has taken place on the 
assumption that it is in the interest of efficiency 
and the elimination of waste. Indeed, it seems 
that our efforts in this direction have almost become 
a passion and efficiency is nearly a slang word. 
However, it may be observed that these terms are 
yet largely on the economic level, because we con- 
serve everything else in the world with more intelli- 
gence and earnestness than we do human life. When 
we visit a great packing plant we are much impressed 
by the fact that provision is made for the saving, 
not only of the best of the slaughtered animals, but 
also of the hair, hoofs, bones, horns, teeth, blood, and 
digestive system. The chief reason for the marvel- 
ous development of the Standard Oil Company is to 
be found in the genius of men who are preventing 
every single waste and utilizing by-products con- 
nected with the oil business. While it is not possible 
to point out a detailed analogy between these eco- 
nomic processes and human endeavor, yet it is imper- 
ative that we discover methods of conserving and 
directing all of the potentialities of human efforts 
and genius. We must locate and utilize all of our 
human resources to keep in harmony with the spirit 
of this scientific age. 

Issues in Democracy.— Democracy stands for equal- 
ity and fairness, yet we have an educational scheme 



252 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

in this country which provides for vocational edu- 
cation for probably ten percent of the workers, 
while the other ninety percent must get their train- 
ing by means of various unorganized agencies; all of 
which means that we do not take seriously the impli- 
cations in democracy. The arguments which have 
long been accepted for professional education, and 
are now being used for agricultural education, may, 
with equal force and conclusiveness, apply to the 
whole problem of education in all of its industrial 
and vocational ramifications. 

We need to face the issue squarely. Society pays 
all the bills in the end, no matter how the training 
is obtained. If we force workers to learn their trade 
or vocation in unorganized conditions in which they 
experiment on the general public, in the end we will 
have paid for their experience or want of experience 
just as certainly as if we had a tax levied upon us 
by society for this training. Moreover, we force the 
worker to obtain his skill and experience in a bad 
moral situation, because commonly he gets to work 
on his own account before he has thoroughly mas- 
tered his trade. The author has no quarrel with the 
plumber or painter, etc., yet we know that in these 
trades the workers frequently learn directly at the 
expense of the public. In every community there 
are plenty of concrete examples of inefficiency in 
plumbing, heating, and house painting. It is not the 
fault of the painter or plumber, but of society, which 
has not provided adequate means for the training of 
these men. We must make up our minds that we 
are paying the bills for all this lack of skill in the 
various trades and professions. An organized means 
for the theoretical training, and, ultimately, the con- 
crete training, of all such workers, undoubtedly 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 253 

would be cheaper than the present unsatisfactory 
trial-and-error method. 

Besides, such a procedure is right and fair, be- 
cause we are committed thoroughly to the policy 
of training for the professions of law, medicine, 
teaching, journalism, engineering, and banking at 
public expense. Recently a great movement has 
swept over the country in which agricultural aid 
has been provided for in elementary schools, high 
schools, normal schools, colleges, and universities. 
Not only has it been urged that it would be too ex- 
pensive to make plumbers, blacksmiths, carpenters, 
architects, painters, and decorators in the schools, 
but also that it is impossible to do so. We know 
that graduates from law schools, medical colleges, 
normal schools, agriculture schools, or engineering 
schools are not finished workers in any of these re- 
spective lines, for the finished worker comes only 
from years of application in the actual conditions of 
life. Yet we know that we are able to give such skill, 
vision, and insight as to minimize the number of mis- 
takes made and to shorten the period of experimen- 
tation, thus minimizing the social waste of amateur 
workmanship. There can be no doubt but the same 
result would follow in the ordinary trades enumer- 
ated above. In Germany, France, and Switzerland 
the training of workers is far enough along to show 
quite conclusive!}^ that this is the case. 

Types of Vocational Education. — For clearness it may 
be well to enumerate the ordinary divisions of voca- 
tional education. Commissioner Snedden in his 
''Problems of Vocational Education," made the 
following classification, and it is probably the best 
general statement which has been made. 1. Pro- 
fessional education, which includes law, medicine, 



254 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

teaching, dentistry, theology, etc. 2. Commercial 
education, which includes a wide range of activities, 
from those of the big department store and counting- 
house down to those of the small general store. 
3. Industrial education, which includes all of those 
activities connected with manufacturing and me- 
chanical arts. The school has already undertaken 
some training for this work in the regular commercial 
courses, in which are taught bookkeeping, typewrit- 
ing, stenography, commercial law, and commercial 
arithmetic. In this we have an innumerable list of 
crafts and trades, some of which require almost no 
skill for entrance, and some of which have very long 
periods of apprenticeship, or demand an elaborate 
technique, which has been secured in some technical 
school. Among the more important of these may 
be mentioned architecture and civil, mining, elec- 
trical, and chemical engineering. 4. Agricultural 
education, including a wide range of occupations, 
including the tillage of the soil, animal husbandry, 
dairying, gardening, etc. 5. Household arts educa- 
tion, which includes also a very wide range of in- 
struction, ordinarily included under the term ''home- 
making.'' 

The Psychological Problem. — It is important that 
we recognize certain psychological factors involved 
in the problem of vocational education. 

First, we know that it is necessary for workers to 
begin early to train themselves for any task which 
involves manual dexterity. This dexterity must be 
acquired during the period of muscular plasticity. 
It is too late to secure this dexterity if we wait until 
after the elementary school period. 

Second, the choice of vocation also has a very 
important influence upon the life of the student 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 255 

in that it develops in time a more serious effort and 
greater thoroughness and earnestness. 

The Co-operation of the Home. — A large amount of 
discussion is going on at the present moment, in con- 
nection with home projects, with the idea of securing 
the co-operation of the home through parent-teacher 
organizations. In a general way all these interests 
have for their purpose the making of the school 
work more real and vital. So far as the rural school 
is concerned, it does not seem possible to solve within 
it all the vocational problems which are now pressing 
for attention. Especially is this true of the one-room 
rural school. Moreover, it is doubtful if it would be 
wise to undertake their solution even in a consolidated 
school. The home and home work should furnish 
the laboratory training for most of the vocational 
education in rural life, while the factory and shop 
should furnish a large part of the vocational educa- 
tion for town or city children. 

In rural life, the home with its tasks may be made 
directly the setting for real vocational education. 
Furthermore, this furnishes a true basis for co- 
operation between the home and school. Among the 
more important home-work projects are those of 
girls' clubs, such as canning clubs, fancy-work clubs, 
etc. Indeed the whole household arts problem should 
relate to the home so far as the laboratory aspect of 
the work is concerned. In agriculture we have boys' 
corn-growing and stock-judging contests, etc. The 
school cannot carry on much of this work in this 
country under its present organization, because the 
rural school has a short term and is not in session 
during the summer months. Moreover, the teacher 
is changed from year to year and the schoolhouse 
and school grounds are not adapted for the work. 



256 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Finally, it would be absurd to make so large an in- 
vestment under such conditions. Possibly the time 
may come, in the distant future, when we will have 
long terms of school and teachers at work all the 
year around, according to the ideals of the present 
Commissioner of Education, but that seems still 
a very long way off and suitable co-operation be- 
tween home and school, on the above outlined basis, 
is our best immediate solution of the problem. It 
cannot be urged that we should do the work as it is 
now being done in Germany and Switzerland, for 
our case is different. The schools in those coun- 
tries are in session more than two hundred days in 
each year, and, furthermore, the school there com- 
monly owns a small patch of ground and the 
teachers have permanent tenure. 

Social and Moral Phases. — There are important 
social and moral aspects of vocational education 
which we must take into account. Undoubt- 
edly, some of the continuous movement to the 
city would be stopped if boys and girls in the 
country better understood the working conditions 
of the city, and the temptations and vices incident 
to certain trades and occupations there. The school 
should furnish enough guidance for boys and girls 
to understand the moral, economic, and social ad- 
vantages and disadvantages in various trades and 
professions. Even in the professions, men and 
women find themselves wholly out of sympathy 
with the sacrifices and limitations imposed upon 
them by the work. Many trades are mere ^^blind- 
alley" occupations, and boys and girls should be 
shown the ^' alley '^ before they get far into it. 

There has been much discussion of the danger of 
culture's being lost if we lay stress upon the practical 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION 257 

or vocational aspects of education. This is all un- 
necessary when we consider the fact that vocational 
education, as discussed in this chapter, in a large 
measure reaches people whose educational oppor- 
tunities are limited, for more than half of the school 
children of the country do not continue in school 
past the sixth grade, and about seventy-five per- 
cent do not get beyond the first year of high school. 
Under the present regime, about three-fourths of 
the people are not being inoculated with culture. 
Undoubtedly one of the reasons for this large loss 
of school populations before any considerable train- 
ing has been secured is due to the fact that the school 
work is too bookish, and there is much evidence to 
support the contention that many thousand more 
school children would be willing to continue longer 
in school if they were allowed to do work which 
could be turned to vocational account. 

This work should begin in the elementary school 
and should continue on up into the high-school 
period. One of the significant things about the 
vocational education movement abroad is, that the 
work is carried on during the apprenticeship period 
in part-time schools, two or three afternoons in the 
week, in evenings and sometimes on Sunday. The 
success of our night schools, when they offer voca- 
tional work, is striking evidence of the demand for 
such work in this country. But we should offer it 
at a time and in a way that will not be so trying on 
the worker. An evening school is better than no 
school at all, but society should realize that those 
who work all day and try to go to school in the eve- 
ning are burning the candle at both ends and sooner 
or later will pay the penalty. One thing more: 
skill and mastery gained under right conditions 



258 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

bring honesty, contentment, and happiness. How 
much of the discontent among American laborers is 
due to their not having had a fair opportunity to 
secure adequate skill for their forms of work, there 
is no way to measure, but it is an important factor 
in the case. 

PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1 . Give a clear-cut distinction between the character of 
the old-time American and the modern home. 

2. Trace the development of the factory in America. 

3. Distinguish between specialization and efficiency. 

4. Should the school teach vocations directly? Why? 

5. Is it the business of the school to turn out skilled 
workers? 

6. Would it be economical for the schools to undertake 
to give training in the various vocations? Give 
reasons. 

7. What are trade schools? How are they conducted? 

8. What are the schools of the United States doing in 
matters of vocational education? 

9. Can the rural school wisely undertake vocational ed- 
ucation? W^hy? 

10. What is the best present solution of vocational edu- 
cation in the United States? 

11. Has vocational education cultural value? Justify 
your answer. 

12. Discuss the merits and demerits of an evening school. 

13. Is it true that we allow much human capacity to go 
to waste? Explain. 

14. Show that it is fair for society to train all its workers. 

15. Should vocational schools be separated from the 
ordinary public schools? Why? 



VOCATIONAL EDUCATION' 259 

16. Does the fact that this country is a democracy have 
anything to do with the answer to the above ques- 
tion? 

17. Name the various types of vocational education. 

18. What are the arguments for a continuous school? 

19. What special problems are presented when we under- 
take to teach the trades in a one-room rural school? 

20. Is it true that society always pays excessively for 
unskilled workers? 

21. Do you know of such a case as regards the work of a 
carpenter? Plumber? Railroader? Teacher? 

READINGS. 

Davenport: Education for Efficiency. 
Hanus: The Beginnings in Industrial Education. 
Leavitt: Examples of Industrial Education. 
Snedden: Problems of Vocational Education. 



CHAPTER XXI. 

MEASURING THE RESULTS OF EDUCATION. 

In the affairs of government, in business, in the 
church, and in the school, we are examining, in a 
more critical way than ever before, the organization 
and its efficiency, and trying to discover ways to 
make progress. In some respects this critical view of 
institutions is more manifest in the United States 
than in any other country, but the spirit is world- 
wide. In this discussion we are concerned with the 
factors of measurement applicable to the school. 

Grading: by the Teacher. — It has always been the 
function of the teacher to try to measure the prog- 
ress of children in the school and the school as a 
whole, but the technique of grading has been crude 
and imperfect. Some scheme of grading and promo- 
tion is now in use in almost every school. A pu- 
pil's progress and standing are usually described by a 
grade or form and then given a rank by letter or per- 
cent to denote the student's mastery of the grade of 
work. The fixing of these per cents or letters is 
largely a matter of personal opinion and feeling, and 
therefore has no definite scientific meaning. They 
mean little to the teacher, and almost nothing to the 
children, the parents, or the community. To say 
that John Smith's average is ninety percent in a 
subject in the fourth grade, or in all the subjects of 
the fourth grade, or to say that his rank in these 
matters is G, under some letter scheme, is to say 
almost nothing about John Smith which can be inter- 



MEASURING THE RESULTS 261' 

preted by anybody except the teacher — even if she 
knows what is meant. 

Such classification is worthless to everybody con- 
cerned. A better scheme, for reports to parents and 
the community and for permanent record, is to rank 
all the students in a given class or group. This indi- 
cates, relatively, something concerning the compar- 
ative standing of the pupils in the school and, after 
the ranking is done intelhgently and fairly, it may 
be of some value; but even this does not describe the 
students with sufficient accuracy to be of great value 
when a new teacher comes into the room or grade. 
We should find some means of describing the prog- 
ress of children, other than by grades or letters. 
The following terms might be used as a tentative 
means to describe children: initiative, persevering, 
impulsive, rehable, industrious, hopeful, even-tem- 
pered, pessimistic, etc. To be sure, this Ust is not 
adequate nor final, but it designates the quaUties 
which are important in an accurate description of 
any human being, and I am confident it stands for 
something more vital than percents or letters. 

Standard Tests. — For some time we have been de- 
veloping tests for measuring achievement in the 
various school subjects. In the last decade very 
considerable progress has been made in standardizing 
tests in the elementary school subjects. Some of the 
more important standard tests with which the ele- 
mentary school teacher should be famihar are the 
Thorndike, Ayres, and Freeman scales for measuring 
handwriting. In arithmetic, the Courtis Standard 
Research Tests in the Fundamental Operations, the 
Courtis Standard Practice Test, the Cleveland Sur- 



262 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

vey Arithmetic Tests, and the Stone Reasoning 
Tests are among the more commonly used. In 
spelhng, the Ayers Spelhng Scale, the Buckingham 
Extension of the Ayers Scale, and the Courtis 
Standard Research Tests in Spelling may be used to 
good advantage. In United States history, the 
Harlan Tests for Information in American History 
and the Van Wagenen^s History Scales are probably 
among the best. In reading, the Monroe's Silent 
Reading Test Revised, the Kansas Silent Reading 
Tests, the Haggerty Reading Examination, Gray's 
Oral Reading Tests, Courtis's Research Tests in 
Silent Reading, and the Thorndike-McCall Scale for 
Understanding Sentences may be mentioned. In 
grammar, language, and composition, the following 
may be listed as having reached a stage where they 
may be used with profit: the Charters Diagnostic 
Language and Grammar Tests, the Charters Diag- 
nostic Language Tests, the Trabue Completion 
Tests Language Scales, the Thorndike Extension of 
the Hillegas scale, and the Willing Scale for Measur- 
ing Written Composition. 

To be sure, this list does not present any complete 
account of all the scales which may be used. It is 
suggestive, and as such may be used by teachers and 
supervisors who have a minimum amount of training 
in the technical aspects of education. 

Mental Measurements. — Probably the most sig- 
nificant movement in connection with the scientific 
developments in education in recent years is the 
application of mental tests in the supervision of 
instruction. We have known for a long time that 
ail children are not equally capable of doing school 



MEASURING THE RESULTS 263 

work or any other kind of work, but we have not 
been able to measure the differences until recently. 

Mental measurements will help teachers to classify 
pupils accurately with respect to grades and certain 
types of work which should be attempted. Indeed, 
now it seems altogether possible that these tests 
may become in some large measure the basis for 
vocational guidance and moral direction.^ 

Among the more important tests which promise 
to have wide appHcation in elementary schools may 
be mentioned the National Intelhgence Tests, 
Scale A and B; the Haggerty Intelligence Examina- 
tion Tests, Delta 1 and Delta 2; the Otis Group 
Intelligence Scale for Primary Examination and the 
Advanced Examination; and the Terman Group 
Tests of Mental Ability. 

These tests, though somewhat technical in charac- 
ter, may be administered by supervisors and teachers 
after some training, which may be secured in many 
of the Teachers' Colleges and all of the University 
Departments of Education. 

The Survey.— The survey is a critical study, made 
by the school or the community to determine the 
efficiency of the school. To be valuable it should be 
made by thoroughly trained experts, in sympathy 
with the spirit and purpose of the system or state. 
It should be made for constructive and not destructive 
purposes. Such a survey will include a careful ob- 
servation of the organization, administration, su- 
pervision, financing, equipment, training in effi- 
ciency of teachers, the methods of instruction, the 
children, and the physical environment of the 
school. 



264 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Many city and state surveys have recently been 
made by different agencies. How successful they 
have been is largely a matter of guesswork and 
opinion. But such attempts indicate that society 
is earnestly trying to measure the efficiency with 
which the school does its work. Some $900,000,000 
per year is spent on public education in this country. 
In some communities it costs four or five times as 
much to get service as in others and, so far as we 
can discern, there seems to be no considerable dif- 
ference between the types of service rendered. Un- 
doubtedly there should be some critical study of such 
conditions to try to determine what is a reasonable 
expenditure of public funds for educational purposes. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY 

1. Do you know of some efforts at scientific measure- 
ments in business or factories? Describe them. 

2. Do you know a farmer who keeps books accurately 
concerning his farm business and experiments? Dis- 
cuss the plan. 

3. What does the school clerk's annual report show 
about the scientific management of the affairs of the 
district? What does the teacher's report show? 

4. In what respects are these reports measurements of 
efficiency? 

5 Study in detail the legally required reports of school 
officers and teachers in your state. How do these 
measure or fail to measure school efficiency? 

6. Study critically all the grading systems you know 
about, and try to determine their values. 



MEASURING THE RESULTS 265 

7. Criticise the author's plan of describing children 
under terms denoting individual characteristics. 

8. Make a study of all the cases in which you thought 
you were unfairly graded. What was the trouble? 

9. Secure one of the Ayres or Thorndike handwriting 
scales and try to apply it to a group of children. 

10. Do the same with the Courtis Arithmetic Tests and 

Language Tests. 
n. What is an educational survey? Discuss definitely 

one or two types of educational surveys. 

12. How might efficiency in history, geography, drawing, 
music, and the manual arts be measured? 

13. How can teachers measure the eflaciency of children 
without using grade marks? 

14. Point out some of the chief defects in our present 
*' marking system" as a measure of efficiency. 

15. Should the schools be required to adopt the gram- 
matical nomenclature mentioned in this chapter? 
Why? 

READINGS 

Ayres: A Scale for Measuring the Quality of Hand- 
writing of School Children. Russell Sage Foundation. 

Ballou: Scales for the Measurement of English Composi- 
tion, The Harvard Newton Bulletins, No. XL, Sept. 
1914. 

Buckingham: Spelling Ability: Its Measurement and Dis- 
tribution. Columbia Contributions to Education, 
T.C.S. No. 59. 

Courtis : Manual of Instructions for Giving and Scoring the 
Courtis Standard Tests in the Three R's. Department 
of Co-operative Research, Detroit, Mich. 



266 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Hillegas: A Scale for the Measuring of Quality in EnglUh 

Compositions by Young People — Teachers College 

Record. 13. September, 1912. 
N. E. A. Report, 1913, pp. 217-285. 
N. E. A. Report, 1913, pp. 392-406. 
N. E. A. Report, 1913, pp. 205-208. 
N. E. A. Report, 1913, pp. 315-354. (Report of the Joint 

Committee on Grammatical Nomenclature.) 
Suzzalo : The Teaching of Spelling (Riverside Educational 

Monographs.) 
Strayer and Thorndike: Educational Administration. 
The Fifteenth Year Book of the National Society for the 

Study of Education, Part I. 
Thorndike: Handwriting. Teachers College Record, Vol. 

II. March, 1910. 
Thorndike: The Measurement of Achievement in Drawing. 

Teachers College Record, November, 1913. 



CHAPTER XXII. 

TEACHING AS A PROFESSION. 

Skill Necessary. — Teaching can never become more 
than a craft — that is, it cannot be a profession 
— until the workers recognize the value of special 
training and technical equipment for the work. Sev- 
eral studies have been made recently by the specialists 
on the staff of the United States Commissioner of 
Education to determine the preparation of our teach- 
ers; in almost every state in the Union some ob- 
servation has been made concerning the training of 
men and women who go into the work of teaching. 

Uniformly, it has been found that beginners have 
little or no special training for their important task. 
To fill about 125,000 vacancies, which occur annually 
in the United States, we have some 25,000 trained 
teachers. In this 25,000 we include the graduates 
of all the Normal Schools in the country, both public 
and private, as well as the entire output of the de- 
partments of education in colleges and universities. 
The few hundred graduates from teacher-training 
classes in high schools, are inconsiderable in the 
solution of the problem of trying to find a hundred 
thousand teachers each year. Conditions in some 
states are worse than in others, but nowhere is the 
problem near a real solution. More than sixty per- 
cent of the untrained teachers go into the rural 
schools for their first teaching experience. 

It is absurd for us to expect society to extend high 
appreciation to a work wherein so small a measure 



268 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

of skill is required. There is no hope for any con- 
siderable economic or social recognition for workers 
with such scant preparation. We must demand 
and secure adequate professional training before 
society will be willing to recognize our work as 
professional. We are put to shame when we note 
the difference between the requirements for becom- 
ing teachers and those necessary to practice law, 
medicine, dentistry, or pharmacy. All the more 
absurd is this, too, because we are saying continu- 
ally (and having society say to us on occasion) that 
we are performing the most important work outside 
of the home itself. 

The Need of Co-operation. — We need to learn how 
to co-operate, in order that we may come into ac- 
cord with the spirit of the times. We need to 
learn that modern co-operation is on an impersonal 
basis, involving a large measure of faith and good 
will; especially is this true in teaching, for the 
thousands of teachers in a state or nation never come 
into direct personal relationship. We are too selfish 
and individualistic to make use of co-operation to 
help us professionally. We secure positions by the 
most primitive methods of competition. Almost 
every country school is sold to the lowest bidder and 
it is not uncommon for principalships and superin- 
tendencies to be sold in the same way. It is no 
wonder that salaries are low in such competition as 
this. Even if we had the skill which merited social 
and economic recognition, salaries would still remain 
lower than for other forms of work until we learned 
the value of co-operation in securing our rights. 

We have not learned to co-operate by helping our 
fellow-workers in case of accident or sickness. Both 
the profession and society have been slow to make 



TEACHING AS A PROFESSION 269 

any provision whatsoever for retiring allowances or 
pensions after the teacher has worn himself or her- 
self out in the work. All these matters might be 
remedied very quickly by sensible co-operation. In 
all other forms of industry, professions, and trades 
the workers have more effective co-operation than 
do the school teachers in their work. 

Social Aspects. — Active skill and intelligent co- 
operation always bring social recognition. The fine 
skill of the German teachers has much to do with the 
social position of those public servants. If we would 
secure the skill and learn to co-operate in the more 
important matters mentioned above, very soon there 
would come that social recognition which the im- 
portance of our work rightfully deserves. Social rec- 
ognition also implies self-respect, but no large meas- 
ure of self-respect can be secured until our work is 
chosen as a lifetime career. Therefore it is abso- 
lutely necessary that suitable provision be made for 
retirement from the profession without fear of want 
and poverty and without having to try to secure in 
some other vocation the necessary means to provide 
for old age. 

Tenure in Position. — A recent study ^ calls atten- 
tion to the nomadic character of the teaching force 
in this country. In this study Mr. Coffman con- 
cluded that at least three out of four of the rural 
schools of the country have new teachers every year, 
and that one-half of the pupils in a given grade in 
any city or town will have a new teacher each year. 
The author has studied some three or four states in 
detail and his findings are thoroughly in accord with 
those of Mr. Coffman. Indeed, in two states studied 

^ Goffman : Mobility of the Teaching Population in Relation to 
Economy of Time, N. E. A., 1913, pp. 234-241. 



270 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the figures were conclusive that about eight out of 
every ten rural teachers have a different school each 
year. Viewed from any standpoint, this represents 
inexcusable waste and inefficiency. The high-school 
situation is not a great deal better, as about one-half 
of the teachers are new in the small high schools in 
the country each year. 

There is absolutely no hope of making teaching a 
profession until men and women go into it expecting 
to stay in it for a lifetime, rather than to make it a 
means of earning a living for a time. JMoreover, the 
moral situation for both the teacher and the student 
is very bad with such a short tenure. It takes time 
to know children and make any profound impression 
upon them. 

Teachers' Organizations. — It may be urged that we 
have our National Education Association, our 
State Teachers' Association, county association or 
county institutes, and city associations or institutes, 
and that these should be utilized to make teaching a 
profession. The author has been a member of these 
organizations for more than twenty years and recog- 
nizes the great good all of them have accomplished; 
but he is of the opinion that some very positive re- 
organization must take place before these agencies 
can do much to make teaching such a profession as 
it ought to be. Some six or eight thousand members 
of the National Education Association can never do 
much for the 600,000 members of the profession, and 
a few hundred teachers in each state association can 
never do the work necessary to professionalize the 
thousands of men and women who will not join the 
associations. We have been trying to bring about a 
higher degree of professional consciousness on a vol- 
untary basis, in this country, for more than three- 



TEACHING AS A PROFESSION 271 

fourths of a century. No doubt we have made 
considerable progress, but much remains to be done. 
The writer is of the opinion that some very positive 
coercion will have to be applied before we can 
complete the work. 



PROBLEMS FOR STUDY. 

1. Contrast the profession of teaching in the United 
States with that in France and Germany. 

2. Should teachers be required to belong to the various 
teachers' organizations? Why? 

3. Compare the education required in your state in the 
different schools with the requirements to practice 
law, medicine, dentistry, or veterinary science. 

4. Make a study of the professional preparation of the 
teachers in your county. 

5. In the above question observe the distinction be- 
tween academic and professional preparation. 

6. Why is ij) so difficult to get co-operation among 
teachers? 

7. What are some of the more important benefits 
which could come from closer co-operation? 

8. If your state has a minimum salary law, study it. 
If it has not, make a study of some state which has 
such a law. 

9. Have you or would you underbid in order to secure a 
position? Give reasons. 

10. Do you believe in teachers' pensions? If so, plan a 
pension scheme for your state. 

11. Would larger salaries do away with the necessity for 
retiring allowances or pensions? Justify your answer. 

12. Make a study of the tenure of teachers in your 



272 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

county and state. Show that short tenure of 
teachers is wasteful. 
13. Do workers in banks, stores, offices, railways, change 
positions frequently? Why? 

READINGS. 

Bagley: Craftsmanship in Teaching. 

Coffman : Mobility of the Teaching Population in Relation 

to the Economy of Time, N. E. A., 1913, pp. 234-241. 
Judd: Developing the Co-operation and Imitation of 

Teachers, N. E. A., 1913, pp. 149-159. 
Palmer: The Teacher. 
Suzzalo: The Reorganization of the Teaching Profession, 

N. E. A., 1913, pp. 362-379. 



APPENDIX A. 



MODEL SCHOOL PLANS. 



The first plan presented is ''Model No. 2," as taken directly 
from Dresslar's ''Rural Schoolhouses and Grounds which 
is Bulletin No. 12, for the year 1914, published by the United 
States Bureau of Education. 





The dimensions of this building are 46 by 32 fee • ° rura^ 
conununities, where there are opportumt.es f» "f ^f ^'^^ 
school tor social purposes, it would furmsh ^^^f^^^^^^^ 
The girls' workroom, the boys' workroom, and the hbrary 
especially lend themselves to uses of this kind. W.th a range m 



274 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 



the building, light refreshments could easily be prepared, and this, 
as everyone knows, would add greatly to the success of any 
social undertaking. If a teacher who understands how to or- 
ganize a district school to meet the demands of the community 
were located in such a building as this, it is needless to say that 
she could at once interest the whole community in the rural life 
problems undertaken in the workrooms as well as in the class- 
room. 

Naturally, this building should be located on good soil, with 
sufficient ground about it for agriculture and gardening, as well 
as for playgrounds. 




The floor plan shows a one-teacher rural schoolhouse, with a 
classroom in the center of the building, and with the workrooms 
and library grouped around it on three sides. This building is 
designed to occupy a lot having an east or west frontage, and to 
make an entrance in the side of the building. If the front of 
the building is situated on a lot facing west, then the hghting 



APPENDIX A 275 

of the classroom would come from the east, and the boj^s' work- 
room would receive the south light, the girl's workroom would 
receive north and west light, the library would have south and 
west Hght, the cloak-rooms would receive west light. However, 
this building could be located so as to face east and be equally 
well situated with reference to the lighting. The advantage 
of facing west hes in the fact that the classroom would be 
shielded somewhat in winter from west and north winds. 

This plan has two workrooms, one for the bo^^s and one for 
the girls. This is a decided advantage. It gives room for dif- 
ferent kinds of manual training equipment, and develops a 
sense of responsibility in both boys and girls by having special 
rooms for their special work. 

The library is not quite so large, but there are two small 
cloak-rooms, one for the boys and one for the girls; in addition 
there is a fuel-room in the rear of the classroom and a small 
room for tools, drawers, and cases adjoining the girls' workroom. 

No toilets have been planned in this building and (unless 
basement should be provided) detached buildings would have 
to be used. The location of a jacketed stove and chimney are 
indicated. 

The classroom, as was said, is situated m the middle of the 
building, with only one outside wall. The windows in this 
room have been grouped closely together on the rear and left of 
the children when in their seats. The windows are set 4 feet 
above the floor and are 3 feet wide and 8 feet high. The dis- 
tance from the finished floor to the ceiling is 123^ feet. The 
classroom is 30 feet long and 24 feet wide and has desk room 
for 35 to 40 pupils. 

Blackboards in this room are set on three sides of the room; 
none are on the window side. At the front end of the room, 
near the teacher's desk, the blackboard should be set 33^ feet 
above the floor and should be 3^^ feet wide. On the other side 
it is better to set the blackboards 28 inches from the floor and 
to make them 4 feet wide. 

Wainscoting should be placed beneath the windows and 
beneath the blackboards all around the room. On the window 
side, this wainscoting should reach to the lower part of the 
window casing; on the other side to the chalk trough. 



276 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

The walls above the wainscoting and those above the black- 
boards should be plastered with the best material, before the 
building is used, should be tinted a hght grayish buff or a very- 
inconspicuous shade of grayish green. The colors of the red 
end of the spectrum should not be used in a schoolroom. 

The boys' workroom, situated immediately back of the 
teacher's desk, is 24 feet long and 8 feet wide. It is lighted en- 
tirely from one side and has a door opening into the classroom 
near the hbrary-room. Cases could be built in the outer end 
of the boys' workroom for tools and models used in connection 
with the shopwork. 

The girls' workroom as shown is approximately 25 feet long 
and 8 feet wide and is hghted from two sides. A door opens into 
this room directly opposite the door into the boys' workroom, 
and thus allows passage along the wide aisle between the last 
row of seats and the inner wall. 

Blackboards should be set in both of these workrooms on 
the inner walls and should be 33^ feet above the floor and 3 
feet wide. These blackboards can be used for many purposes, 
but are chiefly designed for drawings, lesson assignments, and 
plans in connection with the work done in these rooms. 

The small room adjoining the girls' workroom, marked 
"storage-room," can be fitted up with drawers and shelves for 
sewing materials and also for kitchen utensils. 

The hbrary-room opens directly off the classroom, near the 
teacher's desk. This library is designed to be 12 feet long and 
approximately 8 feet wide. Book-shelves should be built around 
the wall in those spaces not occupied by the windows and the 
door. These shelves should not be more than 9 inches deep, 
and hence there will be room for a small reading-table and a few 
chairs. The walls above the book-shelves should be tinted the 
same color as in the classroom. 

The cloak-rooms, opening left and right from the vestibule, 
have one door each and are designed to communicate only with 
the vestibule. Were it not for the fact that the blackboard 
space on the wall in the classroom opposite the windows would 
be greatly hmited, a door should open into the classroom from 
each of these cloak-rooms. This arrangement would give the 
teacher better control and would prevent some congestion iu 



APPENDIX A 



277 



the cloak-rooms, but unless the blackboards in the workrooms 
could be utilized for some of the regular class work this change 
would not be advisable. The windows into the cloak-rooms, as 
will be noticed, are set 6 feet above the floor, so that the walls 
beneath them can be used for clothing-hooks. This provision 
will give plenty of light, and it also relieves the architectural 
features of the building to some extent. 

All doors opening into the classroom should swing out. This 
applies to the doors of the workrooms, hbrary, vestibule, and 
fuel-room. 

The chimney passes up through the girls' workroom. This 
will permit the one chimney to serve both the jacketed stove or 
furnace and a range for the girls' workroom. 



Boy/ Toilet 
8x12' 



^ 



Work.'^om 



TuetcTarwcc 



Q.H/ 
To.ia 



On excavated 



The floors of all rooms of this building should be double, 
except the vestibule, and that should be of cement or terrazzo. 
The upper floors in the other rooms should be made of hard 
pine, selected maple, or oak boards. 

The wainscoting throughout the building should be stained a 
neutral brown, so as to reflect no high lights into the eyes of 
the pupils while they are at work. The roof should be of rather 
fiat construction, preferably hipped. 



278 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

The floor plan was drawn on the supposition that no basement 
would be provided. The accompanying plan shows how the 
basement could be arranged both for heating apparatus and for 
the location of toilets and baths and offers suggestions to those 
neighborhoods with sufficient funds at hand and opportunity 
to supply running water. 

If a basement is provided under this building, the entrances 
to it should be from each end, beneath the worlo-ooms, and 
these entrances should be guarded by some form of covering 
that would harmonize with the architectural design of the 
building. Walks should extend around the building and pro- 
vision should be made for tile drainage. 

A furnace could be located at the most convenient place in 
the basement, preferably near the center, and from that point 
hot-air pipes could be carried to the workrooms, library, and 
classroom. If provision is made for a fuel-room in the basement, 
a fuel-room on the main floor wiU not be needed, and that room 
could be utiUzed as a teacher's room. 



11. 



The chalet effect in this building would be especially pleasing 
on a bench level of a hillside, with the windows facing up or 
down the valley. Such a position should be chosen only when 
there is sufficient amount of level ground to afford playgrounds 
and such gardening as a school of this size would undertake. 
The building should face the south, preferably, so as to get 
the west light in the classroom and the south light in the cloak- 
rooms. If it faced north, the classroom would get east fight, 
which is frequently better than west fight, but the cloak-rooms 
would not get as much sunshine. 

This building especially lends itself to the clapboard form of 
construction; that is to say, the weather-boarding could be 
unplaned lumber fastened to an inner sheathing and then 
stained some color that would blend with the trunks of the 
forest trees. The long, flat roof and extended eaves give it beau- 
tiful lines, and if the grounds were treated to suit the building 
it would make a most attractive small rural schoolhouse. Tliis 



APPENDIX A 



279 



building should not be treated in any other way than in wood; 
it would not suit brick, stone, or cement. 

The rather elaborate steps and overhanging roof give a quaint 
effect to the building, and would not be at all difficult or expen- 
sive to construct. 





GIRLS' 

lmtraho: 



BOYS' 

dopakce: 



This plan represents almost the minimum of rural school 
equipment. Separate entrances connected with cloak-rooms 
are made for the boys and for the girls. From these cloak-rooms 
doors lead into the classroom, which, as will be seen, is designed 
for a district with comparatively few children. 

The dimensions of the classroom are 18 by 24 feet. The 
architects have indicated the placing of 35 desks. This would 
give little less than 13 square feet of floor space to each pupil. 
This would not be sufficient, unless most of the children were of 



280 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

the primary grades. Such a building as this should be used for 
not more than 30 pupils. 

In the rear of the classroom provision has been made for a 
fuel-room, and also for a furnace which would introduce the 
fresh air into the room at a height of about 8 feet above the 
floor. The chimney is placed at some distance from the furnace 
on the other side of the fuel-room, and is designed to have a 
vent flue opening from the schoolroom near the floor line, in 
this way utilizing the heat from the furnace to create a circu- 
lation of air in the schoolroom. Possibly it would have been 
better if the chimney had been placed near the center of the 
partition, so that the smoke-pipe leading from the furnace to 
the chimney would not be so long, and hence less dangerous, 
and also to prevent dead air space near the window side of the 
room. However, this suggestion is not of great importance, 
because there is less danger of dead air space near the windows 
than on the opposite side of the building. 

The classroom is lighted abundantly from one side alone. 
The windows are placed, approximately, 4 feet above the floor 
and run up to the ceiling. It will be noticed that the ceiling of 
the cloak-rooms and the fuel-room will not be so high as that of 
the classroom on account of the method of roofing. This will 
be a definite saving and will introduce no serious difficulty. 

Two small windows, one in the rear and one in the front of 
the classroom on the right of the pupils' desks, may be included 
for the purpose of ventilation during warm weather. If these 
windows are inserted, they should be placed above the black- 
boards and so arranged that they may be opened easily from the 
floor. They are not designed for light, but are ''breeze windows." 
These will relieve the rather bare side of the building, and give 
a better general effect architecturally. 

The light in the cloak-rooms is preserved by cutting away 
the broad eaves immediately over the windows in front of the 
building. 

In the classroom the blackboards are on three sides of the 
room, none at all being on the window side. The main black- 
board is on the wall directly opposite the windows. Since this 
building is especially designed for primary pupils, the black- 
boards should not be set above 28 inches in height, except at 



APPENDIX A 



281 



the teacher's end of the room. The width of the board should 
not exceed 33^ feet. 

The storeroom off the fuel and furnace room is designed 
simply for brooms, brushes, and such material as a janitor would 
need. A separate entrance is marked for the janitor. This does 
not seem at all essential, but does make an easy method of in- 
troducing the fuel. 

As noted above, this building is planned for almost the 
minimum activities of a rural school, and may be of service in 
those communities which cannot undertake to build a more elab- 
orate structure, designed for a larger educational program. 

The cost of such a building ought to be very low, for it would 
require very little lumber, and the plan is so simple that any 
builder could easily construct it from the data given in the 
plans. These are all drawn to scale, and although they are 
much reduced all the working drawings could be made up from 
Mie data here given. 

III. 

The third plan is for the one-teacher rural school described 
in the following specifications, and is taken from plans drawn 
by Mr. J. L. Sibley, one of the rural-school supervisors of 
Alabama. 




This building is designed to accommodate 40 to 45 pupils 
and, as will be seen, has a workroom, a tool-room, two cloak- 
rooms, and a library m addition to the classroom. The dimen- 



282 



ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 




sions of each room are shown on the floor plan. The height of 
the-ceihng is to be 12 feet between ceihng joists, making the 
distance between finished floor and finished ceihng approximately 
11 feet 8 inches. Other dimensions will appear in the speci- 
fications. 

Specifications for One-Teacher Rural School. 

The building is to be 18 inches above ground. The corner 
pillar to be 8 by 32 inches; other pillars to be 8 by 16 inches. 
Sills to be 4 by 8 inches. One sill to pass through center of the 



* APPENDIX A 283 

building and be supported by 8 by 16-inch pillar. Joists to be 
2 by 10 inches, set 20 inches 0. C. Studs to be 2 by 4 inches, 
set 24 inches 0. C. Ceiling joists to be 2 by 6 inches, set 24 
inches 0. C. Ceiling joists over teacher's library, vestibule, 
cloak-rooms, and tool-room to be 2 by 4 inches, set 24 inches 
0. C. Rafters to be 2 by 4 inches, set 24 inches 0. C, and well 
braced by a tie across from rafter to rafter — this tie to be placed 
about half way of each rafter. Building to be 12 feet between 
ceiling joists and floor joists. Blackboards to be 4 feet wide, 
30 inches from the floor, and to run around tliree sides of the 
room where there are no openings. 

If no weights are to be used on windows, the window-frames 
are to be made so that the top sash can be let down 12 inches 
from the top by means of a hinged strip, which forms a part of 
the blind stop, and is the width and thickness of sash. 

The following bill of lumber and other material required: 

Lumber: 

9 pieces, 4 by 8 inches by 18 feet — Sills. 
4 pieces, 4 by 8 inches by 16 feet — Sills. 
62 pieces, 2 by 10 inches by 16 feet — Floor joists. 
26 pieces, 2 by 6 inches by 24 feet — Ceiling joists set 24 inches O.C. 
13 pieces, 2 by 4 inches by 14 feet — Ceiling joists set 24 inches O.C. 
24 pieces, 2 by 4 
8 pieces, 2 by 4 
8 pieces, 2 by 4^i 
12 pieces, 2 by 4 
8 pieces, 2 by 4 
10 pieces, 2 by 4 
8 pieces, 2 by 4 
33 pieces, 1 by 6 
30 pieces, 2 by 4 
100 pieces, 2 by 4 
41 pieces, 4 by 4 
18 M No. 2 shingles. 
1,200 square feet sheathing. 
2,000 square feet No. 2 flooring. 
2,850 square feet weather-boarding, ^ by 6 inches. 
6,850 square feet ceiling required (approximately) for each room; 
divide as follows: Classroom, 2,685 feet; workroom, 1,485 
square feet; vestibule and teacher's library, 1,415 square 
feet; cloak-rooms and tool-room, 1,100 feet. 
3 pieces, l}4 by 12 inches by 10 feet — Treads. 
3 pieces, 1 by 7 inches by 10 feet — Risers. 



nches by 20 feet — Rafters. 

nches by 20 feet — Cripples. 

nches by 16 feet — Cripples. 

nches by 14 feet — Cripples. 

nches by 12 feet — Cripples. 

nches by 10 feet — Cripples. 

nches by 14 feet — Hipps-spliced. 

nches by 20 feet — Ridge saddle and roof braces. 

nches by 16 feet — Plates. 

nches by 12 feet — Studding. 

nches by 12 feet — Studding-posts. 



284 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

1 piece, 2 by 12 inches by 14 feet — Stringers. 
Windows: 

18 windows 10 by 18 inches — 12 hghts and frame complete. 

2 single sash 10 by 18 inches — 12 hghts and frame complete. 
Doors: 

1 door 3 by 7 feet by 1}/^ inches — No. 2 and frame complete. 

4 doors 2 feet 8 inches by 6 feet 8 inches by 1)^ inches — No. 2 
and frame complete. 

1 double door 5 by 7 feet by 1^ inches — No. 2 and frame 
complete. 
900 feet of quarter round. 
Two 6-inch T. C. thimbles. 

Bricks and Lime: 1,100 for chimney; 540 for pillars; 1,200 under- 
pinning; 4 barrels lime. 
Nails: One keg 20d.; l}i kegs 8d.; 2 kegs 6d.; 60 pounds shingle; 

20 pounds finishing. 
Locks: 6 rim locks; 1 front-door lock. 
Hinges: 7 pairs hinges, S}4 by 33^ inches, loose pin; 3 pairs hinges, 

for single sash. 
Transom Lifts: 3 transom lifts — one for each single sash. 
Paint for house — outside and inside door-frames: 100 pounds white 

lead, 10 gallons hnseed oil, 2 pounds lampblack. 
Classroom: Walls, 4 packages kalsomine — light buff; ceiling, 2 

packages kalsomine — cream. 
Workroom: Walls, 13^ packages kalsomine — light buff; ceiUng, 

1 package kalsomine — cream. 
Teacher's library, cloak-room, and vestibule: Walls, 3 packages 

kalsomine — Ught buff; ceiling, 1 package kalsomine — cream. 

The above plans and specifications by Sibley are of special 
value, because they may be taken at once to any lumber yard 
and the lumberman can give a definite estimate of the cost 
of construction. Furthermore, no expense will be introduced 
for architect's fees or for plans to be used by the contractors. 



IV. 

The fourth plan represents a one-teacher rural school, designed 
by J. H. Felt & Co., architects, Kansas City, Missouri. 

These plans anticipate either the construction of a new 
building or the remodeling of an old building. For example, 
if an old building in the form of a classroom without any of the 
conveniences attached, were enlarged by adding the hall with its 
attached cloak-racks, the workroom, the niche for the heater, 



APPENDIX A 



' 


• 


• 


• 


* 


• 


1 


• 


» 




* 




















1- 


















•.'-^,C/ACDL-UCy)n. 


* 




















• 



















D.»fc^ 




and the various other elements in the front of the building, 
by rearranging the windows, and changing the doors, it would 
be an easy matter to make over an insanitary and inconvenient 
one-room building into this hygienic and modern structure. 

There are certain features of this building worthy of attention: 
The niche in which the heater is placed could be made fireproof 
at Httle expense. The fuel need not be carried into the house. 
The exits for the foul air brought into contact with the chimney, 
and in this way the movement of the air is hastened. The work- 



286 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

room is shown with folding doors between it and the main 
schoolroom. These doors may be left open, or they may be 
closed in case the work within this room disturbs the pupils 
in the classroom. A blackboard may be placed under the high 
windows in the rear, as well as on the wall in the front of the 
schoolroom. Further, if the windows on the right side of the 
workroom were placed higher, say 7 feet above the floor, a 
blackboard could be introduced across the entire end of this 
room, which would seem desirable. If the windows on the left 
of the classroom were all moved back nearer the left rear corner, 
as the children sit at their desks, better light would be obtained, 
because less of it would be in the children's eyes. 

This plan could be improved somewhat by slight reconstruc- 
tion, the result of which should be a building with a single work- 
room for all, one cloak-room, a teacher's room, a library, and a 
classroom. If a basement could be constructed under this 
building, it could be used for the furnace and such other con- 
veniences as community conditions would warrant. Without 
a basement, a jacketed stove could be set as indicated. A sep- 
arate flue should be constructed in the workroom to furnish 
opportunity to use a small range for domestic science work. 
If it seemed best to separate the workroom into two parts, a 
partition could be erected between the door and the flue in the 
workroom. 



APPENDIX B. 

MINIMUM SANITARY REQUIREMENTS FOR RURAL 
SCHOOLS. 

The following are the "Minimum Sanitary Requirements 
for Rural Schools," proposed by the Joint Committees on Health 
Problems in Education of the National Council of Education 
of the National Education Association and of the American 
Medical Association. 

It is the desire and purpose of this committee to help establish 
a standard of fundamental health essentials in the rural school 
and its material equipment, so that attainment of this minimum 
standard may be demanded by educational authorities and 
by public opinion of every rural school thruout the country. 

Possession of the minimum sanitary requirements should 
be absolutely necessary to the pride and self-respect of the 
community and to the sanction and approval of county, state, 
and other supervising and interested official or social agencies. 

Neglef"*- of anything essential for health in construction, 
equipment, and' care of the rural-school plant is at least an 
educational sin of omission and may reasonably be considered 
a social and civic crime or misdemeanor. 

The country school should be as sanitary and wholesome in 
all essential particulars as the best home in the community. 
Further, it should be pleasing and attractive in appearance, in 
furnishings, and in surroundings, so that the community as a 
whole may be proud of it; so that the pupils and teacher may 
take pleasure in attending school and in caring for and improv- 
ing it. 

7. Location and Surroundings. 

The school should be located in as healthful a place as exists 
in the community. 

Noise and all other objectionable factors should be eliminated 
from the immediate environment of the rural school. 



288 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Accessibility. — Not more than two miles from the most dis- 
tant home, if the children walk. Not more than six miles from 
the most distant home, if school wagons are provided. 

Drainage. — School ground must be well drained and as dry- 
as possible. If natural drainage is not adequate, artificial 
sub-soil drainage should be provided. 

Svil. — As every rural-school ground should have trees, shrubs, 
and a real garden or experimental farm, the soil of the school 
grounds should be fertile and tillable. Rock and clay soil 
should always be avoided. If the soil is muddy when wet, 
a good layer of fine sand and fine gravel should be used to make 
the children's playground as useful as possible in all kinds of 
weather. 

Size of school grounds. — For the schoolhouse and playground, 
at least three acres are required.^ 

Playground is not a luxury but a necessity. A school without 
a playground is an educational deformity and presents a gross 
injustice to childhood. 

Arrangement of grounds. — The school grounds should have 
trees, plants, and shrubs grouped with artistic effect but with- 
out interfering with the children's playground. 

II. Schoolhouse. 

The schoolhouse should be made as nearly fireproof as pos- 
sible. Doors should always open outward and the main door 
should have a covered entrance; a separate fuel-room should be 
provided, also separate cloak-rooms for boys and girls. 

A basement or cellar, if provided, should be weU ventilated 
and absolutely dry. 

The one-teacher country school should contain, in addition 
to the classroom: 

(a) A small entrance hall, not less than 6 by 8 feet. 

(b) A small retiring-room, not less than 8 by 10 feet, to be 

*If the rural-school plan includes the additional features (a 
teacher's home, a garden, and an experimental farm) which are 
already in some progressive states accepted and established as 
educational essentials, then the school grounds should contain 8 to 
10 acres. 



APPENDIX B 289 

used as an emergency room in case of illness or accident, for a 
teacher's conference room, for school library, and for health 
inspection, a feature now being added to the work of the rural 
school. 

(c) A small room, not less than 8 by 10 feet, for a workshop, 
for instruction in cooking, and for the preparation of refresh- 
ments when the school is used, as it should be, for social pur- 
poses. 

Classroom should be not less than 30 feet long, 20 feet wide, 
and 12 feet high. This will provide space enough for a maximum 
of thirty pupils. 



III. Ventilation and Heating. 

The school should always receive fresh air coming directly 
from out-of-doors in one of the following arrangements: 

(a) Thru wide open windows in mild weather. 

(b) Thru window-board ventilators under all other condi- 
tions, except when, with furnace or jacketed stove, special and 
adequate inlets and exits for air are provided. 

//"eafm^.— Unless furnace or some other basement system of 
heating is installed, at least a properly jacketed stove is required. 
(No unjacketed stove should be tolerated in any school.) 

The jacketed stove should have a direct fresh air inlet about 
12 inches square, opening thru the wall of the schoolhouse 
into the jacket against the middle or hottest part of the stove. 

The exit for foul air should be thru an opening at least 16 
inches square on the wall near the floor, on the same side of the 
room as the stove is located. 

A fireplace with flue adjoining the stove chimney makes a 
good exit for bad air.^ 

Temperature. — Every school should have a thermometer, and 
the temperature in cold weather should be kept between 66 and 
68 degrees Fahrenheit. 

^The following arrangement for ventilating-flue is required in 
one western state: A circular sheet-steel smoke-flue, 8 inches in 
diameter, passing up in center of ventilating-shift (foul-air exit) 
20 inches square in the clear. 



290 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

IV. Lighting. 

The schoolroom should receive an abundance of light, suffi- 
cient for darkest days, with all parts of the room adequately 
illuminated. 

The area of glass in windows should be from one-fifth to one- 
fourth of the floor area. 

The best arrangement, according to present ideas, is to have 
the light come only from the left side of the pupils and from the 
long wall of the classroom. Windows may be allowed on rear 
as well as on the left side. High windows not less than seven 
feet from the floor may be permitted on the right side as an aid 
to cross-ventilation, but not for lighting. 

There should be no trees or shrubbery near the schoolhouse 
which will interfere with the lighting of the classroom. 

The school building should so face with reference to the 
windows that the schoolroom will receive the direct sunlight 
at some time during the day. 

Shades should be provided at tops and bottoms of windows 
with the dark shades at top, so that light may be properly con- 
trolled on bright days. 

Schoolroom colors. — The best colors for the schoolroom in 
relation to lighting are: 

Ceiling: white or light cream. 
Walls: light gray-green. 
Blackboards: black. 



V. Cleanliness. 

The schoolhouse and surroundings should be kept as clean as 
a good housekeeper keeps her home. 

(a) No dry sweeping or dusting should be allowed. 

(b) Floors and furniture should be cleaned with damp sweep- 
ers and oily cloths.^ 

(c) Scrubbing and airing are better than any form of fumi- 
gation. 

* Sweeping compounds in moist-proof containers may be obtained 
in the markets. 



APPENDIX B 291 



VI . Drinking-Water. 



Drinking-water should be available for every pupil at any 
time of day which does not interfere with the school program. 

Every rural school should have a sanitary drinking-fountain 
located just inside or outside the schoolhouse entrance. 

Drinking-water should come from a safe source. Its purity 
should be certified by an examination by the state board of 
health or by some other equally rehable authority. 

A common drinking-cup is always dangerous and should 
never be tolerated. 

Individual drinking-cups are theoretically, and, in some con- 
ditions, all right, but practical experience has proven that in 
schools, individual cups, to be used more than once, are unsatis- 
factory and unhygienic. Therefore, they are not to be advo- 
cated or approved for any school. 

Sufficient pressure for running water for drinking-fountain or 
other uses in the rural school may always be provided from 
any source without excessive expense by a storage tank or by 
pressure tank with force-pump. 

VII. Water for Washing. 
Children in all schools should have facihties for washing 
hands available at least: 

(a) Always after the use of the toilet. 

(b) Always before eating. 

(c) Frequently after playing outdoors, writing on black- 
board, or doing other forms of handwork connected with the 
school. 

Individual clean towels should always be used. 
Paper towels are the cheapest and most practicable. 
The common towel is as dangerous to health as the common 
drinking-cup. 

VIII. Furniture. 

School seats and desks should be hygienic in type and ad- 
justed to the size and needs of growing children. Seats and 
desks should be individual— separate— adjustable— clean. 



292 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

Books and other materials of instruction should be not only- 
sanitary, but attractive enough to stimulate a wholesome re- 
sponse from the pupils. 

IX. Toilets and Privies. 

Toilets and privies should be sanitary in location, in con- 
struction, and in maintenance. 

(a) If water-carriage system for sewage is available, separate 
toilets for boys and girls should be located in the schoolhouse, 
with separate entrances on different sides or corners of the school 
building. 

(b) If there is no water-carriage system, separate privies 
should be located at least fifty feet in the different directions 
from the schoolhouse, with entrances well screened. 

(c) The privy should be rainproof, well ventilated, and one 
of the following types: 

1. Dry earth closet. 

2. Septic tank container. 

3. With a water-tight vault or box. 

All containers of excreta should be water-tight, thoroly 
screened against insects, and easily emptied and cleaned at 
frequent intervals. 

No cesspool should be used unless it is water-tight and easily 
emptied and cleaned. 

All excreta should be either burned, buried, treated by sub- 
soil drainage, reduced by septic tank treatment, or properly 
distributed on tilled land as fertilizer. 

X. All Schoolhouses and Privies should be Thoroly and 
Effectively Screened Against Flies and Mosquitoes. 

XI. Schoolhouses and Outhouses should be Absolutely Free 
from Defacing and Obscene Marks. 

XII. Buildings shoidd be Kept in Good Repair and with Whole 
Windows. 

STANDARDS. 

Provision and equipment of adequate school plant depends on 
mtelligence, interest, pride, and financial ability of community. 



APPENDIX B 293 

Maintenance of a clean and sanitary school plant depends 
on efficient housekeeping and on interest and willing co-operation 
of pupils. 

No community should be satisfied by the minimum require- 
ments indicated in the foregoing, but every country school 
should be so attractive and well equipped as to minister with 
some abundance of satisfaction to the physical, mental, aesthetic, 
social, and moral well-being of those who provide it, who own 
it, who use it, and who enjoy it. 

Present Conditions. 

Among the reasons which explain the present deplorable con- 
ditions of rural schoolhouses, the following are prominent: 

(a) Low architectural and sanitary standards in rural regions 
generally thruout the country. 

(b) Ignorance regarding the physical, mental, social, and 
moral effects of unattractive and insanitary buildings on the 
children and on the conamunity as a whole. 

(c) False economy expressed by local school boards in failure 
to vote enough money to build and maintain suitable school 
buildings. 

(d) Lack of supervision or assistance by the state which is 
usually necessary to maintain desirable standards. 

Improvement. 

How shall the rural schools thruout this country be improved 
up to a reasonably satisfactory standard? 

I. By a popular campaign of education regarding the con- 
ditions desirable and possible for the country school. Such a 
campaign would profitably include many or most of the follow- 
ing: 

(a) The United States Bureau of Education and state de- 
partments of education should furnish plans and instructions 
for construction and equipment of rural-school buildings. 

The United States Bureau of Education in Washington is 
already supplying on request valuable help of this kind, and a 
few state departments of education are demonstrating what 



294 ELEMENTARY EDUCATION 

may be done by supervision and support which aid without 
controlling. 

(b) State departments of education should supply super- 
vision of rural schools and should have power: 

(1) To condemn insanitary and wholly unsuitable buildings. 

(2) To give state aid to mral schools when the local authori- 
ties fulfil certain desirable and reasonable conditions. 

(c) Ideas and standards of school sanitation should be in- 
culcated in minds of local school patrons and school authorities 
who control school funds and who administer the affairs of the 
schools. Public lectures on health topics should be provided 
in the schoolhouse and elsewhere. 

(d) Effective school health courses should be introduced in 
normal schools and teachers' institutes. 

Better education of rural-school teachers, county superintend- 
ents, rural-school supervisors in the principles and practice of 
school hygiene and sanitation should be assured. 

(e) Interest in, and enthusiasm for, the improvement and 
care of all features of the school and its surroundings which 
affect health and happiness should be inspired in the minds 
of rural-school pupils. 

Organization such as "Pupils' Board of Health," ''Civic 
Leagues," or "Health Militias," may profitably be formed among 
pupils. 

(f) Organizations like "The Granges," women's clubs, county 
medical societies, and other groups so situated that they may 
further the cause of health and efficiency should co-operate with 
the rural school. 

(g) Attractive but reliable health information should be 
furnished abundantly by the public press. 

II. Emulation and competition should be recognized and re- 
warded in ways that will promote wholesomely and progressively 
the welfare of the community as a whole. 

Ten Sanitary Commandments for Rural Schools. 

In every school which may be considered passably sanitary 
the following conditions shall obtain: 

1. Heating by at least a properly jacketed stove. (No im- 



APPENDIX B 295 

jacketed stove to be allowed.) Ventilation by direct outdoor 
air inlets and by adequate and direct foul-air outlets. 

2. Lighting from left side of room (or from left and rear) 
thru window space at least one-fifth of floor space in area. 

3. Cleanliness of school as good as in the home of a careful 
h ousekeeoer . 

4. Furniture sanitary in kind, and easily and frequently 
cleaned. Seats and desks adjustable and hygienic in type.^ 

5. Drinking-water from a pure source provided by a sanitary 
drinking-fountain. 

6. Facilities for washing hands, and individual towels. 

7* Toilets and privies sanitary in type and in care (with 
no cesspools unless water-tight) and no neglected privy boxes 

or vaults. . r u i 

8. FUes and mosquitoes excluded by thoro screenmg of school- 
house and toilets. 

9. Obscene and defacing marks absolutely absent from 
schoolhouse and privies. 

10. Playground of adequate size for every rural school. 



INDEX 



Actions, instructive, 105-106. 

reflex, 105. 
Administration, county, 8-10. 

district, 6-7. 

state, 10. 

town or township, 7-8. 
Agriculture, 187, 236, 254. 
Alcohol and drugs, 217, 218. 
Alphabetic method of teaching 

reading, 175-176. 
Alternation, 85-87, 95. 

chart showing systems of, in 
Missouri, 87. 

See Correlation. 
Apperception, 110-114. 
Appreciation, in study of litera- 
ture, 180. 

lesson for, 162-163. 

of the value of work, 198. 

plan for lesson m, 163-170. 
Arithmetic, 194-198. 

equipment necessary, 197-198. 

inductive method in teaching, 
197. 
Arts, household, 199-201. 

manual, 198-199. 

opportunities for cooperation 
in, 208-209. 
Assignment, 93. 

Attendance, securing regular, 88- 
89. 

Bagley, W. C, on the "Batavia 
System," 154. 
on "School Discipline," 61. 



Ball, base, 236. 
indoor, 236. 
basket, 234. 
corner, 234-236. 
tether, 231-234. 
volley, 228-231. 
Bancroft, Jessie H., corner ball 
described by, 234-236. 
tether ball, 231-234. 
volley ball, 228-231. 
Baseball, 236. 
indoor, 236. 
Basket-ball, 234. 
"Batavia System," 154. 
Blackboard, 52-53. 
Boy Scouts, The, 236. 
Buildings, school. Sec Chap. VI. 
43 ff. 
basement room, 45-46. 
cloak-room, 46. 
dimensions, 45. 
equipment, 51-56. 
heating, See Heating, methods 

of, 48-51. 
lighting, 46. 

necessity for better, 44. 
ventilation, 47. 

temperature, 47-48. 
windows, 47. 

Campfire Girls, The, 236. 
Certificates, by whom issued, 

69-70. 
Charts, hygiene, 55. 
reading, 55. 



298 



INDEX 



Clubs, 236, 245-246. 

Coffman, on "Mobility of the 

Teaching Population," 269. 
Colvin, S. S., and Bagley, W. C, 
on the classification of in- 
stincts, 106-107. 
Commissioner of Education, 39. 
Compulsory attendance, 89. 
Consolidation, arguments for, 
15- . 
benefits of, 19. 
compared with centralized 

school, 13. 
co-operation in, 12, 15. 
definition of, 12. 
expense of, 17. 
high schools and, 17, 24. 
history of, 13. 
laws, 23. 
methods of, 21. 
progress of, 14. 
transportation and, 24. 
Copy-book methods in writing, 

178. 
Corner ball, 234-236. 
Corporal punishment, 212-213. 
Correlation and Alternation, ex- 
planation of, 85, 87, 95. 
Geography and Plistory, 189. 
purpose of, 94-95. 
See Important Factors in Con- 
structing a Program, 78-81. 
Course of study, 79. 
Crissman, Supt. George R., 138, 

143. 
Culture epoch theory, 207. 
Curriculum, The New, See Chap. 
XIV, 172 ff ., Chap. XV, 187 ff. 

Deductive lesson, 141-143. 

plan for, 143-145. 
Defects of speech, 221, 222. 

physical, 218-219. 



De Garmo, 135. 
Demonstration lesson, 155-157. 
Desks, hygienic equipment of, 

51-52. 
Development lesson, 134. 
Diacritical marks, 177-178. 
Differences in individuals, 118- 
124. 
See Methods in Teaching Read- 
ing, 175-176. 
Discipline, school. See Chap. 
XVI, 203 ff., 243. 
aims, 204-206. 
child's attitude, 207. 
formal, 124-128. 
forms, 203-204. 
parent's attitude, 207-208. 
problems in school, 205-206. 
punishments, forms of, 211- 

214. 
teacher as a factor in, 206- 
207. 
Diseases, preventable, economic 
losses from, 216-217. 
hook-worm, 217. 
malaria, 217. 
tuberculosis, 216-217. 
typhoid, 217. 
Dramatization and story-teUing, 

227-228. 
Drawing, 181-182. 
subject matter and methods 
in, 182-183. 
Drill, fire, 99. 

lesson, 145-149. 
Duties of elementary teachers, 
to community, "71-72. 
to parents, 71. 
to pupils, 71. 
to school boards, 70. 
to self and profession, 72. 
Dewey, John, 189, 191, 206. 
Dressiar, Fletcher B., 51, 222. 



INDEX 



299 



Education, academic, 67-68. 
aims of, in a democracy, 3-4. 
an investment, 28-29. 
commissioner of, 39. 
forms of support of, 30. 
functions of state in, 2-3. 
measuring the results of. See 

Chap. XXI, 260 ff. 
permanent funds for, 30-31. 
physical. See Chap. XVII, 216 

ff. 
practical aspects of, 256-258. 
relation to workers, 28-29. 
state control of, 1-2. 
total sum spent annually on, 

32. 
types of state control of, 3. 
vocational. See Chap. XX, 
250 ff. 
Efficiency, drill lesson in, 145- 
149. 
in silent reading, 175-176. 
Elementary teacher, duties to 
community, 71-72. 
to parents, 71. 
to pupils, 71. . 
to school boards, 70. 
to self and profession, 72. 
requirements of, academic, 67- 
68. 
legal, 69-70. 
professional, 68-69. 
Enthusiasm, 61, 65, 77-78. 
Equipment, arithmetic, 197-198. 
blackboards, 52-53. 
charts and similar equipment, 

55. 
decoration, 55. 
desks, 51-52. 

games and recreation, 227-228. 
library, the, 55-56. 

economy in selection of, 56. 
manual arts, for, 199. 



moral influence of, 246-247. 

toilets, 53-54. 

vacuum cleaners, 56. 

water supply, cistern, 54. 
drinking cup, 54-55. 
drinking fountain, 54. 
Examinations, 160-161. 
Expression subjects, 173 ff. 

drawing, 181-182. 

language and grammar, 178- 
180. 

manual arts, 198. 

music, 183-184. 

reading, 174-175. 

spelling, 176. 

writing, 178. 
Expulsion, 113-114. 

Finances, school. See Chap. IV, 

28 ff. 
First day of school, 77-78. 

preparation for, 75-77. 
Formal discipline, 124-127. 

application of, 127-128. 
Funds, apportionment of, 34-35. 

county, 31-32. 

permanent, 32. 

Games, baseball, 236. 

basket-ball, 234. 

corner ball, 234-236. 

moral value of, 245-246. 

school games and recreations, 
227-228. 

team work in, 208-209. 

tennis, 234. 

tether ball, 231-234. 

volley ball, 228-231. 
Geography, 188-190. 
Government, rules for, 87-88. 
Grades. See Promotion, 96-97. 

graded home work, 247-248. 

grading schemes, 97. 



300 



INDEX 



by the teacher, 260-261. 

scientific tests, 261-263. 

subjects arranged by, 84. 
Grammar and language, 178-180. 
Grounds, school, 43-44. 

demonstration, 44. 

location of, 43. 

size of. 43. 
Growth, normal, 222-223. 

Hanus, on aims of public educa- 
tion, 4. 
Harris, Com. William T., on the 

aims of the recitation, 92. 
Heating, methods of, 48-51. 
hot-air furnaces, 50. 
humidity, 51. 
open fire, 48. 

steam and hot water, 50-51. 
stoves, 48-50. 
jacketed, 49-50. 
Herbartian movement, 135, 241. 
Hesperia movement, 237-238. 
"Home project" plan, 247-248. 
Homer, IHad, 126. 
Household arts, 199-201. See 
Types of Vocational Educa- 
tion, 253-254. 
course in, 200. 
opportunities for cooperation 

in, 209. 
values of, 199-200. 
Hygiene, 68. 

personal. 5eeChap.XVII,216f!. 
of the ear, 220. 
of the nose, 221. 
of the teeth, 220-221. 
of the vision, 219-220. 
physiology and, 188. 

Ideals, 66. 

curriculum for, 243-244. 
when acquired, 263-264. 



Ideation, 109. 

Imitation, dangers of, 116. 
in learning grammar, 178-180. 
law of, 114-115. 
value of, 115-116. 
Inductive lesson, 135-137. 
method in arithmetic, 197. 
plan for, 138-141. 
Instinctive actions, 105-106. 
Instincts, classification of, 106- 
107. 
education and, 107-108. 
Instruction. See Chap. XII, 133 
fJ., and Chap. XIII, 151 ff. 
methods of. See Chap. XII, 
133 £f., and Chap. XIII, 
151 ff. 
Interest, applications of, 129- 
130. 
doctrine of, 248. 
how secured, 128-129. 
law of, 128. 
dangers in the application 
of, 129. 



Language, and grammar, 178-180. 
or expression subjects, 173 fif. 
Lecture method, 134. 
Lesson, for appreciation, 162-163. 
plans for, 163-170. 
deductive, 141-143. 
plan for, 143-145. 
demonstration, plan for, 155- 

157. 
drill, 145-148. 

plan for, 149. 
inductive, 135-137. 
plan for, 138-141. 
method of presentation of, 
133-135. 
development, 134. 
lecture, 134. 



INDEX 



301 



textbook, 133-134. 
study, 151-152. 

plan for, 155-158. 
testing, 158-162. 
Library, the, 55-56. 

economy in selection of, 56. 
use of, 97-98. 
Lighting, 46. 
Lincoln, First Inaugural Address, 

121. 
Literature, study of, 180-181. 

Manual arts, 198-199. Chap. 
XX, 250 ff. 
cooperation in, 209. 
psychological factors involved 
in, 254-255. 
Measurements, mental, 262. 

standard, 261. 
Methods, in drawing, 182-183. 
in music, 183-184. 
in teaching reading, 175-176. 
in teaching spelHng, 176-178. 
of instruction. See Chap. XII, 
133 ff., and Chap. XIII, 
151 fif. ^ 
appreciation, lesson for, 162, 

170. 
deductive lesson, 141-145. 
drill lesson, 145-149. 
inductive lesson, 135-141. 
study lesson, 151-152. 
''Batavia System," 154- 

155. 
Monitorial system, 153. 
testing, lesson, 158-162. 
of presentation, 133-135. 
Monitorial system of study, 

153. 
Moral education. See Chap. 
XIX, 241 ff. 

means of, curriculum, 243- 
244, 256-258. 



school discipline, 243. 
teacher, the, 246. 
methods of, 241-243, 270. 
value of, doctrine of interest, 
248. 
home tasks, 247-248, 255- 

256. 
school activities, 245-246. 
schoolroom equipment, 246- 
247. 
Motor activity, 130. 
Music, 183-185. 
methods in teaching, 185. 
reasons for teaching, 184. 
subject matter in, 184-185. 

National Education Association, 
(Teachers' Organization), 
270-271. 
Nature subjects. See Chap. XV, 
187 ff. 
geography, 188-190. 
nature study, 188. 
physiology and hygiene, 188. 
See Chap. XVII, 216 ff. 
Nervousness, of children, 221. 
Newman, Cardinal, 123. 
Normal growth, 222-223. 

Obligations of the teacher, to 
parents, 71. 
to pupils, 71. 
to school boards, 70. 
to self and profession, 72. 
Organizations of teachers, 270- 
271. 

Parker, 163. 

Perception, sense of, 109-110. 
Personality of teachers, 61. 
Pestalozzi, 1. 

Phonic method in teaching read- 
ing, 175. 



302 



INDEX 



Physiology and hygiene, 188. 

See Chap. XVII, 216 ff. 
Pictures, selection of, 55. 
Plans, graded. See Individual 
Differences, 118-124. 
"home project," 247-248. 
lesson, for appreciation, 163- 
170. 
deductive, 143-145. 
drill, 149. 

inductive, 138-141. 
study, typical, 155-158. 
Play and recreation. See Chap. 
VIII, 226 ff. 
community, 236-239. 
home, 227. 
school, 227-228. 
value of, 227. See School 
Activities, 245-246. 
Preparation of the teacher, aca- 
demic education, 67-68. 
legal qualifications, 69-70. 
professional training, 68-69. 
Professional training for ele- 
mentary teachers, 68-69. 
Program, daily, 78. 
for rural schools, 82. 
for study and recitation, 86. 
important factors in construct- 
ing, 78-87. 
"special day," 245. 
values of, 78. 
Promotion, basis for, 96-97. 
Psychological factors in educa- 
tion. See Chap. X, 105 ff.; 
124, 128, 130, 254. 
Punishments, forms of, 211-214. 

Questioning, good, 93-94. 
teacher's attitude in, 93-94. 

Rapeer, 220. 
Reading, 174-175. 



methods in teaching, 175- 
176. 
Recitations, assignment of, 93. 
methods of presentation, 133- 

135. 
number per day, 80. 
objects of, 92. 
order of, 79. 
periods, 82. 
Records, school, 99-103. 

suggested forms for, 100- 
101. 
Recreation, communit}'^, 236-239. 

See Chap. XVIII, 226 ff. 
Report cards. See Records, 99- 

103. 
Results of education, measure- 
ment of. See Chap. XXI, 
260 ff. 
Rousseau's "Emile," on apper- 
ception, 112-113. 
Rural school problems, 68. 
Rural teacher, the, 67-68. 

Sanitation, 217. 

Scholarship, 61, 65-66. 

School boards, duties and ob- 

hgations of elementary 

teacher to, 70. 
School finances, history of, 29-30. 

elementary, 191-194. 
Schoolroom technique. See Chap. 

VIII, 75 ff., and Chap. 

IX, 91 ff. 

Smith, David Eugene, on the 
teaching of arithmetic, 195. 
Snedden, Com., 253. 
Spelling, diacritical marks, 177- 
178. 
methods, selection of words, 

176-178. 
oral, 176. 
written, 176. 



INDEX 



303 



Statistics, alcohol and drugs, 
use of, 217-218. 
educated and uneducated 

workers, 28-29. 
education, cost of, 263. 
hook-worm, 217. 
malaria, 217. 

members of N. E. A., 270. 
permanent funds, 30. 
personality, investigations con- 
cerning, 60-61. 
SDeed, in reading, 121-123. 

in writing, 119-121. 
tuberculosis, 216-217. 
typhoid fever, 217. 
vacancies, annual, 267. 
Story-telling and dramatization. 
See Plays of the Home, 227, 
also School Games and Rec- 
reation, 227-228. 
Strayer, G. D., 163. 
Study supervised, "Batavia Sys- 
tem," 154. 
Monitorial system, 153. 
Subject matter, in drawing, 182- 
183. 
in music, 184-185. 
in spelling, 176-177. 
origin of, 172-173. 
Superintendent, county, 39-41. 

state, 39. 
Supervision, elimination of 
waste in, 37-38. 
need for, 37. 
of study, 152-155. 
reorganization of, 38-39. 
Suspension, 213. 

Taxation, local, 32-33. 

state, 33-34. 
Teacher, the, as a social factor, 59. 

health, the necessity of good, 
59-60. 



obligations of, to the com- 
munity, 71-72. 
to parents, 71. 
to profession, 72. 
to pupils, 71. 
to school boards, 70. 
to self, 72. 
personal appearance, 62. 
personality of, 60-62. 
preparation of, academic, 67- 
68. 
legal, 69-70. 
professional, 68-69. 
Teaching, as a profession. See 
Chap. XXII, 267 ff. 
need of cooperation in, 268- 

269. 
skill necessary, 267-268. 
social aspects of, 269. 
Team work. See Pathological 
Cases, 209-211. 
how cultivated, 208-209. 
value of, 209. 
Temperature of schookooms, 47. 
Tennis, 234. 

Tenure in position, 269-270. 
Testing lesson, the, 158-162. 
Tests, standard, 261. 
Tether ball, 231-234. 
Textbook method. See Methods 

of Presentation, 133-134. 
Thinking or ideation, 109. 
Thompson, Frank E., 263. 
Toilets, 53-54. 

leaving the room, 98. 
Tomlins, Will L., 244. 
Training, professional, for ele- 
mentary teachers, 68-69. 
Transportation of pupils, 25. 

Vacuum cleaners, 56. 

Van Liew, 135. 

Ventilation of schoolrooms, 47. 



304 



INDEX 



hot^ir furnaces, 50. 
jacketed stoves, 49-50. 
open fire, 48- 
humidity, 51. 
Vocational education. See Chap. 

XX, 250 ff. 
changes in society, 250-251. 
cooperation of the home, 255- 

' 256. 

lack of, 251-253. 
psychological factors involved 

in, 254-255. 
social and moral phases, 256- 

258. 
types of, agricultural, 254. 

commercial, 254. 



household arts, 254. 

industrial, 254. 

professional, 253-254. 
Voice, the, 66. 
Volley ball, 228-231. 

Walls, color of, 55. 
Water supply, cistern, 54. 

drinking cup, 54-55. 

drinking fountain, 54. 

getting water, 98-99. 
Word, method in teaching read- 
ing, 175. 

hst of, in spelling, 176-177. 
Writing, 178. 



